OSTEOPOROSIS

What is osteoporosis?

Osteoporosis is a condition that affects the bones.

The inside of a healthy bone has small spaces, like a honeycomb. Osteoporosis increases the size of these spaces, causing the bone to lose strength and density. In addition, the outside of the bone grows weaker and thinner.

Osteoporosis Treatment

Osteoporosis can occur in people of any age, but it’s more common in older adults, especially women.

People with osteoporosis are at a high risk of fractures, or bone breaks, while doing routine activities such as standing or walking. The most commonly affected bones are the ribs, hips, and the bones in the wrists and spine.

What are the Symptoms of Osteoporosis?

The early stages of osteoporosis don’t cause any symptoms or warning signs. In most cases, people with osteoporosis don’t know they have the condition until they have a fracture.

If symptoms do appear, some of the earlier ones may include:

  • Receding gums
  • Weakened grip strength
  • Weak and brittle nails

If you don’t have symptoms but have a family history of osteoporosis, talking to your doctor can help you assess your risk.

Severe osteoporosis

Symptoms of severe osteoporosis can include a fracture from a fall or even from a strong sneeze or cough. They can also include back or neck pain, or loss of height.

Back or neck pain or loss of height can be caused by a compression fracture. This is a break in one of the vertebrae in your neck or back, which is so weak that it breaks under the normal pressure in your spine.

What are the Risk Factors of Osteoporosis?

  • Age : The biggest risk factor of osteoporosis is age. Throughout your life, your body breaks down old bone and grows new bone.
  • Menopause : Menopause is another primary risk factor, which occurs in women around the ages of 45 to 55 years. Due to the change in hormone levels associated with it

Other risk factors for osteoporosis include:

  • Female
  • Caucasian or Asian
  • Having a family history of osteoporosis
  • Poor nutrition
  • Physical inactivity
  • Smoking
  • Low body weight

Test and Diagnosis : Bone density test for diagnosis

To check for osteoporosis, your doctor will review your medical history and do a physical exam. They may also run tests of your blood and urine to check for conditions that may cause bone loss.

If your doctor thinks you may have osteoporosis or that you’re at risk of developing it, they’ll likely suggest a bone density test.

This test is called bone densitometry, or dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). It uses X-rays to measure the density of the bones in your wrists, hips, or spine. These are the three areas most at risk of osteoporosis. This painless test can take from 10 to 30 minutes.

Osteoporosis treatment

If your testing shows that you have osteoporosis, your doctor will work with you to create a treatment plan. Your doctor will likely prescribe medications as well as lifestyle changes. These lifestyle changes can include increasing your intake of calcium and vitamin D, as well as getting appropriate exercise.

There’s no cure for osteoporosis, but proper treatment can help protect and strengthen your bones. These treatments can help slow the breakdown of bone in your body, and some treatments can spur the growth of new bone.

Osteoporosis medications

The most common drugs used to treat osteoporosis are called bisphosphonates. Bisphosphonates are used to prevent the loss of bone mass. They may be taken orally or by injection. They include:

  • Alendronate
  • Ibandronate
  • Risedronate
  • Zoledronic acid

Other medications may be used to prevent bone loss or stimulate bone growth. They include:

Testosterone

In men, testosterone therapy may help increase bone density.

Hormone therapy

For women, estrogen used during and after menopause can help stop bone density loss. Unfortunately, estrogen therapy has also been associated with increased risk of blood clots, heart disease, and certain types of cancer.

Raloxifene

This medication has been found to provide the benefits of estrogen without many of the risks, although there is still an increased risk of blood clots.

Denosumab

This drug is taken by injection and may prove even more promising than bisphosphonates at reducing bone loss.

Teriparatide

This drug is also taken by injection and stimulates bone growth.

Diet

In addition to your treatment plan, an appropriate diet can help strengthen your bones.

To keep your bones healthy, you need to include certain nutrients in your daily diet. The most important ones are calcium and vitamin D. Your body needs calcium to maintain strong bones, and it needs vitamin D to absorb calcium.

Other nutrients that promote bone health include protein, magnesium, vitamin K and zinc.

Exercises for osteoporosis

Eating right isn’t the only thing you can do to support the health of your bones. Exercise is very important as well, especially weight-bearing exercises.

Weight-bearing exercises are performed with either your feet or your arms fixed to the ground or another surface. Examples include:

  • Climbing stairs
  • Resistance training, such as
    • Leg presses
    • Squats
    • Pushups
    • Weight training, such as working with:
      • Resistance bands
      • Dumbbells
      • Resistance exercise machines

These exercises help because they cause your muscles to push and pull against your bones. This action tells your body to form new bone tissue, which strengthens your bones.

Osteoporosis prevention

There are many risk factors for osteoporosis that you cannot control. These include being female, getting older, and having a family history of osteoporosis. There are some factors, however, that do fall within your control.

Some of the best ways to prevent osteoporosis include:
  • Getting recommended daily amount of calcium and vitamin D
  • Doing weight-bearing exercises
  • Stopping smoking
  • For women, weighing the pros and cons of hormone therapy

If you’re at risk of developing osteoporosis, talk to your doctor about the best way to prevent it.

Popular



News & Updates

  1. Completely Paralyzed Cancer Patient Walks After Spine Surgery READ MORE >>
  2. Dr. Hitesh Garg conferred with 'Atal Swasthya Bhushan Samman' award 2019 December.
  3. Dr Himanshu Tyagi conferred 'Vishisth chikitsa ratan' award 2019 by Delhi Medical Council.
  4. Dr Tarun khukreja awarded ' Best emerging Spine surgeon' by MBB jury in June 2019 .
  5. Live demonstration of scoliosis correction surgery by Dr Hitesh Garg in Excel care hospital, Guwahati.
  6. 23 percent of IT professional suffer from neck pain. Times of India - 25th January 2019 READ MORE >>
  7. NMC Bill explained: Point of concerns Vs clarifications READ MORE >>
  8. Center for spine equipped with latest technology in the form of O-arm and Navigation technology

Do you have any questions?

feel free to contact us!