Osteoporosis
What is Osteoporosis?
Osteoporosis is a disease in which bones become fragile due to low bone mass and structural deterioration, causing bones to break. These fractures usually occur in the hip and spine. It can cause permanent disability, severe back pain, deformity and death. Throughout your lifetime, old bone is removed and new bone is added. Early in life, new bone is added faster than old bone is removed, until age 30, when peak bone mass is achieved. After 30, old bone is removed faster than new bone is added and proceeds to do so during postmenopausal years. Osteoporosis usually occurs in the spine, hips and wrists of postmenopausal women.
Risk Factors
- Gender: Women are four times more susceptible than men.
- Age: Post-menopausal women and those who've reached menopause before age 45
- Body size: Small, thin-boned women
- Ethnicity: Asian and Caucasian
- Family History: You may be at risk if your parents have a history of fractures.
- Lifestyle: Excessive smoking, alcoholism and physical inactivity are contributors.
- Medication: Talk to your physician if you are taking thyroid medication or cortisone-like drugs for asthma, arthritis, or cancer.
- Diet: A lifetime diet low in calcium and Vitamin D, lactose intolerance or milk allergies.
Symptoms
Osteoporosis often occurs without immediate symptoms. People are unaware of the disease until a sudden strain, bump or fall causes a fracture or a collapsed vertebra. This is usually noticed in the form of back pain, loss of height, or spinal deformities.
Prevention
You can prevent osteoporosis from occurring if you reach optimal bone mass during your bone building years. Some factors to consider are calcium and Vitamin D consumption, increased exercise, therapeutic medications and unhealthy habits.
- Calcium: Good sources of calcium include dairy products such as milk, yogurt and cheese; green, leafy vegetables such as broccoli, collard greens and spinach; and soy products like soy milk and tofu. Pink salmon, sardines and calcium fortified orange juice are also good sources.
- Vitamin D: This vitamin is very important in calcium absorption. Sunlight is a great source of Vitamin D, but people who are housebound or live in cold climates may have to take supplements to ensure intakes between 400-800 IU.
- Exercise: Walking, jogging, stair-climbing, tennis and dancing are weight-bearing exercises that force you to work against gravity and build strong bones.
- Therapeutic Medications: Alendronate and Risedronate, Estrogen and Raloxifene are FDA approved medications for osteoporosis prevention.
- Unhealthy Habits: Smokers may absorb less calcium from their diets, and women who smoke have less estrogen and go through menopause earlier than non-smokers. Also, those who drink heavily are prone to fractures due to falling and poor nutrition.
References and Resources:
National Institutes of Health, Osteoporosis and Related Bone Diseases
National Osteoporosis Foundation
