What is osteoporosis?

Osteoporosis is a condition that affects the bones. It makes your bones thinner and less dense than they should be. People with osteoporosis are much more likely to break a bone.

Normally, the state of your bones is dense enough to bear your weight, and it can easily withstand most kinds of impacts. Nevertheless, as you age, your bones will lose some parts of its density plus the ability to regrow as they should be. If you have osteoporosis, then your bones are always much more fragile than they supposed to be and much weaker.

Most people do not realize they have osteoporosis until it leads them to break a bone. However, osteoporosis can weaken any of your bones, making you more susceptible to breaking it, though some of the most common sites include you’re:

• Hips (hip fractures).
• Wrists.
• Spine (fractured vertebrae).

The earlier a health care professional diagnoses the disease, the lower the chances of developing bone fractures. Talk to a health care professional about getting your bone density checked, especially when you reach age 65 or older, have had an osteoporotic fracture after age 50, or when someone in your biological family has osteoporosis.

What are some signs of osteoporosis?

Most health conditions have symptoms. That is why osteoporosis health care providers sometimes label it as a silent disease.

You will not feel or notice anything that will signal that maybe you are suffering from osteoporosis. You will not be experiencing a headache, fever or stomachache letting you know that something in your body is wrong.

The most common "symptom" is breaking a bone without warning, especially as the result of a minor fall or small accident that would not typically cause you any harm.

Osteoporosis itself doesn't cause pain, stiffness, or otherwise noticeably affect your body; however, you might experience a few changes in your body that can indicate your bones are weakening or losing density. Some of these warning signs for osteoporosis may include:

• Losing one inch or more of your height.
• Changes to your normal posture, as you may bend or slouch forward further.
• Shortness of breath, if the disks within your spine are compressed enough to reduce lung capacity.
• Lower back pain, also called lumbar back pain.

It can be hard to monitor for yourself the changes your body undergoes. Maybe someone close to you will comment on a change in your body - perhaps you're getting shorter or your posture is changing. People often joke about older adults "shrinking" with age, but this really could be a sign that you should visit a healthcare provider for a bone density test.

What causes osteoporosis?

Osteoporosis results from the fact that your bones lose the repairing and regenerating capabilities as one age.

Your bones are just as much living tissue as any other part of your body. It doesn't feel like it, but they continually go about the business of exchanging their own cells and tissue throughout your lifetime. Until you are around 30 years old, your body naturally puts together more bone than you lose. After age 35, however, the bone's breakdown happens faster than the body can replace it, causing a slow bone mass loss.

Greater bone mass loss: If you have osteoporosis, your bone mass is lost at a much higher rate. In postmenopause, your bone mass is lost even at a faster rate.

Risk factors for osteoporosis:

You can be any person and get osteoporosis. However, some groups of people are quite probable to experience it, as noted in the following:

• Any person 50 years old and above
• Those assigned female at birth (AFAB), especially AFAB cases in postmenopause
• Those with a family history, that is, if there is a case of osteoporosis in your biological family.
• Those with naturally slender or smaller frames." People with thinner statures tend to have lesser natural bone mass, so losses will hit them more.
• Those who smoke or consume tobacco products.

Osteoporosis risks could be raised through certain medical conditions, including:

• Endocrine disorders — any condition that affects your parathyroid glands, thyroid gland and hormones (like thyroid disease and diabetes).
• Gastrointestinal diseases, such as celiac disease or inflammatory bowel disease [IBD].
• Autoimmune diseases that affect your bones, including rheumatoid arthritis or ankylosing spondylitis (arthritis that affects your spine).
• Blood disorders or cancers that affect your blood, such as multiple myeloma.

Certain medicines or surgeries can increase your risk for osteoporosis, including:

• Diuretics: medicines that treat high blood pressure by reducing extra fluid in your body.
• Corticosteroids: anti-inflammatory medicines.
• Medicines to treat seizure disorders.
• Bariatric (weight loss) surgery.
• Cancer hormone therapy, including for breast cancer or prostate cancer treatment.
• Anticoagulants.
• Proton pump inhibitors (such as antacids that treat acid reflux and may impair your ability to absorb calcium).

Other potential risk factors for osteoporosis include:

• Eating too little calcium or vitamin D.
• Being less than physically active.
• Drinking more than two drinks containing alcohol each day.

How is osteoporosis diagnosed?

A bone density test will be done by the doctor. A bone density test is an imaging test that measures the strength of your bones. It uses X-rays to measure how much calcium and other minerals are in your bones.

Doctors may refer to this as a DEXA scan or DXA scan, or they may say it is a bone density scan. These are just other names for the test.

A bone density test uses low levels of X-rays to measure the density and mineral content of your bones. It's kind of like a routine X-ray. It's an outpatient procedure, so you won't stay in the hospital. When you're finished with your test, you can go home. You will not need any needles or injections with this test.

The best way to catch osteoporosis before it starts causing a break in your bones is through checking changes in your bone density. Your provider might recommend you to have regular bone density tests if you have a family history of osteoporosis, if you are over 50, or if you have osteopenia.

How is osteoporosis treated?

Your doctor will prescribe an appropriate combination of therapies to promote a deceleration of your bone loss and fortification of your residual bone tissue. Generally for osteoporosis, prevention of fractures is believed to be the greatest benefit of treatment.

The most widely prescribed and administered of all osteoporosis therapies include:

• Exercise: Exercise correctly strengthens your bones, along with any associated tissue connecting to the bones, like your muscles, tendons and ligaments. Your health care provider may recommend weight-bearing exercise to strengthen your muscles and train your balance. Exercises that work your body against the force of gravity, such as walking, yoga, Pilates, and tai chi can improve your strength and balance without placing excess stress on your bones. You may need to work with a physical therapist to find exercises and movements that are appropriate for you.
• Vitamin and mineral supplements: You may need over-the-counter or prescription calcium or vitamin D supplements. Your physician will let you know which type you will require, how often you should take them and in what dosage.
• Osteoporosis medications: Your doctor will inform you of which prescription would be most helpful for your body and you. Some of the most commonly prescribed medicines osteoporosis providers use to treat include hormone replacement drugs such as estrogen or testosterone replacement, and bisphosphonates. More severe osteoporosis, or at serious risk of fractures, may require additional drugs-including PTH analogs, denosumab, and romosozumab-all of which are typically administered through injection.

What can I do to lower my risk of osteoporosis?

Exercise and make sure you receive adequate calcium and vitamin D in your diet. Often, these are all you will require for prevention of osteoporosis. Your provider will assist you in identifying a treatment program that suits you best and your bone health.

General Safety Precautions

Make the following general safety precautions work for you to minimize your risk of injury:

• Always use your seatbelt.
• Wear the proper protective equipment for all activities and sports.
• See that your home and work space is clutter free to avoid falls for you or those that visit.
• Use proper tools or equipment in the home to reach things. Never stand on chairs, tables or countertops.
• Consult your doctor for diet and an exercise program suitable for you.
• Use a cane or walker if you are having trouble walking or if you have an increased risk of falling.

What to Expect With Osteoporosis?

You can expect to live with osteoporosis for a long time, probably through your life. You will have to visit your healthcare provider. Your provider will check you with bone density tests to track changes. You will also change your treatments according to the progress of your disease.

Living With

How Can I Care for Myself?

Nutrition that is well balanced and healthy combined with regular physical activity, should also help maintain your bone, and overall health. Getting regular check-ups with a healthcare provider will also pick up any issues or symptoms affecting your bones as early as possible.

Talk to your provider about getting a bone density test if you are over 65 years of age or have a family history of osteoporosis.

To seek an expert consultation for any orthopedic condition.

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