Diet to help a broken bone

Question
Hi

I broke my left humerus 4 months ago and it doesn't seem to be healing at all.  My doctor has advised I try and avoid surgery as it could leave to nerve damage because of where the break is.  I'm trying to eat healthy to help promote healing but I'm not sure what I should be eating.  Can you suggest any foods or supplements which will help me?  I've gained weight also because I can't exercise and it's making me miserable.  Also should I avoid alchahol?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

Many thanks

Jo

Answer
Hi Jo,
Sorry to hear of your healing problems with your humerus.  How is it that you know it's not healing?  Did you get xrays to confirm this, or are you just feeling pain and numbness/pins and needles in that extremity?
If you have confirmed through xray or MRI that it is still indeed broken, it makes me wonder what is causing this delay of healing.  Is it a multiple fracture?  Perhaps it wasn't properly aligned when casted, and is taking a long time to form new bone over the area.  Also, do you have any major illnesses or diseases that could affect your healing, such as diabetes, poor immune function/autoimmune diseases like lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, etc, or cancer?

Are you taking any kind of immunosuppressive medication for anything?  Corticosteroids? Do you have asthma / taking daily inhaled corticosteroid?   Chemotherapy?  Anti-HIV drugs?  Do you have osteoporosis (less bone mass) or osteopenia (soft bones)?  

All of these reasons I have mentioned could definitely have an impact on your healing;  however if none of them apply to you, I really don't know what could be causing your problem.

However, you can certainly facilitate any type of healing in any tissue in your body by making sure you eat plenty of lean protein (chicken, fish, protein powder/shakes, low-fat dairy products) and fresh vegetables of varying colors (make a nice salad or stir fry with at least 5 different color of veggies in it to cover the spectrum of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants), and fresh fruits.   
Low fat dairy products such as 1% or fat free cottage cheese, skim milk, low fat yogurt with no added sugar are all great products that contain calcium to help strengthen your bones.
Also consider taking a calcium supplement (1000mg/day) with added Vitamin D daily.  

Avoid alcohol, cigarette smoke, corticosteroids & immunosuppresive drugs (unless you have a serious medical condition that requires this), as these will all delay healing significantly.

Also, exercise will HELP your healing, as it increases blood supply to damaged tissues and provides it with the nutrients it needs, as well as clearing away old tissue and debris.  Exercise will also cause collateral blood supply (new blood vessels) everywhere in your body, including the damaged area, which will result in quicker healing.   I wouldn't recommend lifting weights with the broken humerus, or if you have pain, but you can do lower body cardio or just lunges using your body weight (with no pressure on your arms).  You can also grab a 5 lb weight with your non-injured arm and do bicep curls, shoulder raises and tricep kick backs.  Your other joints aren't injured, so there is no reason to avoid exercise in the other joints, as long as it doesn't affect your broken arm (get someone to change the weights for you or lift weights if it requires 2 hands, for example, if you are adding plates to the leg press machine, avoid grabbing the plates yourself and get someone to help you load the machine.  Doing leg presses per se is not going to injure your arm, and will help strengthen your whole body, as well as help take off some of that weight you gained during your injury).

Good luck and it will heal eventually!

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