| Osteoporosis | |||||
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- What is osteoporosis?
- Symptoms of osteoporosis
- Causes of osteoporosis
- Treatment of osteoporosis
- Important osteoporosis facts
Bone is living tissue. Bone is a connective tissue which has a matrix of substances in the interconnective layers which contains calcium salts. The body is constantly breaking down bone tissue and re-building it as necessary.
When there is not enough bone tissue being re-built than that which is broken down, then the bone becomes less dense, have less bone mass, are more brittle and more prone to breaking. This is how osteporosis develops.
Osteoporosis occurs when the bones lose more minerals (such as calcium) and other substances more quickly than they are replaced, so the bones lose some of their mass and then can break or crack more easily.
Osteoporosis makes the bones weak, brittle and more likely to break.
The most common bones that are affected by osteoporosis are:
- Hip
- Pelvis
- Ribs
- Spine
- Upper arm
- Wrist
Scientists believe that women are more susceptible to developing osteoporosis because they have lowered levels of eostrogen after menopase. Eostrogen (in a complicated process with other hormones and substances in the body) helps the bones keep more of their calcium and stay strong and healthy.
Osteoporosis is known as a "silent" disease as it happens silent in the body (often even for decades) without any real symptoms until a bone cracks or breaks after it has been bumped, or a fall is sustained (in the case of a hip fracture).
There is no single cause which underlies the development of osteoporosis, but there are known risk factors (some of which are greater than other.
Risk factors that are preventable
- Excessive alcohol drinking
- Lack of calcium intake
- Lack of exercise
- Lack of vitamin D intake
- Poor nutrition
- Smoking cigarettes
- Tendency to fall
Risk factors that may not be preventable
- Being Asian or Caucasian
- Being female
- Being over 65 years of age
- Certain diseases
- Chronic liver disease
- Hyperparathyroidism
- Hyperthyroidism
- Kidney failure
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Certain medications
- Corticosteroids (long term use)
- Heparin (eg Warfarin)
- Phenytoin (eg Dilantin)
- Early onset of menopause
- Family history of osteoporosis
- Fractures as an adult
- Immobility (any condition that prevents mobility and walking)
- Malabsorption of nutrients (from conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease, celiac disease)
- Small and thin body frame
Diagnosis and testing
The normal method of testing for osteoporosis is:
- X-rays - can detect the disease in affected bones which appear smaller and thinner than healthy bones
By the time osteoporosis has been tested and diagnosed, the diease has already progressed to about 30% bones loss.
The other tests that will be performed to aid diagnosis are:
- Bone density test - this is a scan which a small amount of radiation measures bone mineral density
- Bone density - can be either normal, osteopenic (low), osteoporotic (osteoporosis)
- Symptom history - the doctor will ask a series of questions about your symptoms to determine risk factor of osteoporosis
The Bone Density Test is covered by Medicare (in Australia) for the following groups of people:
- Aged over 70 years (male and female)
- Being diagnosed with osteoporosis (any age)
- Having at least one fracture due to osteoporosis (any age)
- People taking corticosteroids long-term (any age)
- Women under 45 who have not had any periods for at least 6 months
Conventional treatment
Conventional treatment aims to treat current bone loss and prevent further damage:
- Lifestyle changes - are recommended to reduce further bone loss
- Eat foods high in calcium - these foods will help the bones retain more of their calcium and strengthen bones
- Eat foods high in vitamin D - foods high in vitamin D helps the body absorb more of the calcium in foods eaten and strengthens the bones
- Exercise more - regular exercise, especially weight-bearing exercise such as resistance exercises (light weights) should be undertaken to help strengthen the bones
- Limit alcohol intake - excessive alcohol intake is a definite risk factor for osteoporosis and intake should be limited
- Stop smoking - this is a definite risk factor for osteoporosis and should be stopped, especially if the condition has already begun
- Medications to stop bone loss - to stop bone loss, to strengthen bones or to increase bone formation
- Biphosphonates - this is the most popular medication for preventing (or slowing) down bone tissue break-down
- Calcitonin - this is the natural hormone secreted by the parathyroid glands that stimulates increased bone tissue formation
- Eostrogen-like drugs - these mimic the effects of eostrogen
- Foreto - this is the synthetic version of the natural hormone (calcitonin) that stimulates increased bone tissue formation
Alternative / complementary treatment
Always ensure that you notify your medical practitioner of any supplements that you want to take - it may interfere with other medication or conditions you have. Confirm with your doctor it is safe to take BEFORE you try it.
- Dietary changes - certain dietary changes are adivsed in order to reduce bone
loss and increase calcium reabsorption to strengthen bone tissue
- Avoid aluminium - this has an antagonistic effect on calcium and lower calcium levels
- Eat foods high in calcium - these foods will help the bones retain more of their calcium and strengthen bones
- Eat foods high in vitamin D - foods high in vitamin D helps the body absorb more of the calcium in foods eaten and strengthens the bones
- Eat more fruits and vegetables - these foods are high in nutrients which are necessary for good bone health
- Exercise more - regular exercise, especially weight-bearing exercise such as resistance exercises (light weights) should be undertaken to help strengthen the bones and prevent osteoporosis or reduce further deterioration in the bone tissue
- Limit alcohol intake - excessive alcohol intake is a definite risk factor for osteoporosis and intake should be limited
- Moderate protein intake - studies show that high intakes of animal protein can stimulate increased excretion of calcium and may even promote break-down of bone tissue
- Stop smoking - this is a definite risk factor for osteoporosis and should be stopped, especially if the condition has already begun
- Lifestyle changes- the same life changes advised for contentional treatment are also advised
- Minerals - certain minerals, other than calcium, are also needed for increasing bone tissue, preventing bone tissue break-down and preventing bone loss
- Boron - studies show this mineral is necessary to ensure calcium and the other minerals work correctly together to prevent further bone tissue loss
- Calcium - this is an important mineral in preventing further bone loss and to strengthen bone tisse, which is mostly made up of calcium
- Copper - creates healthy bone tissues and prevents osteoporosis
- Magnesium - some researchers believe that osteoporosis is actually a condition caused by deficiency in magnesium
- Manganese - helps the body absorb more of the calcium from foods eaten
- Phosphorus - this is needed to keep the calcium in the bones
- Silica - this mineral helps with osteoporosis and especially in healing after any fractures
- Zinc - helps the body absorb more of the calcium from foods eaten
- Nutrients - some nutrients may help with preventing or treating osteoporosis
- Chondroitin - this nutrient exists naturally in the body and may help the bones keep more of their tissues
- Glucosamine - this nutrient exists naturally in the body and may help the bones keep more of their tissues
- Vitamins - certain vitamins, other than vitamin D are also needed for
increasing bone tissue, preventing bone tissue break-down and preventing bone loss
- Betacarotene - the precursor to vitamin A is necessary to prevent osteoporosis
- Folic acid - studies show folic acid helps with bone tissue re-formation
- Vitamin B12 - assists with increasing bone minerla density
- Vitamin C - assists with calcium absorption
- Vitamin D - helps the body absorb more of the calcium to strengthen bones and prevent bone tissue loss
- Vitamin K - is required to enable calcium to function correctly
- Osteoporosis is more commin in women, affecting as many as 1 in 4 women over 50 years
- Osteoporosis, a debilitating condition, is preventable
- Osteoporosis, once it is diagnosed, is difficult to reverse
- Magnesium regulates bone metabolism and is important in the treatment of osteoporosis
references
- Cranenburg EC, Schurgers LJ, Vermeer C. Vitamin K: the coagulation vitamin that became omnipotent. Thromb Haemost. 2007 Jul;98(1):120-5
- Curtis JR, Saag KG. Prevention and treatment of glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis. Curr Osteoporos Rep. 2007 Mar;5(1):14-21
- Davis JC, Guy P, Ashe MC, Liu-Ambrose T, Khan K. HipWatch: osteoporosis investigation and treatment after a hip fracture: a 6-month randomized controlled trial. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2007 Aug;62(8):888-91
- Kitchin B, Morgan SL. Not just calcium and vitamin D: other nutritional considerations in osteoporosis. Curr Rheumatol Rep. 2007 Apr;9(1):85-92
- Osiecki H. The Physicans Handbook of Clininical Nutrition, 6th Edition. Bioconcepts Publishing QLD, 2001
- Sugiura M, Nakamura M, Ogawa K, Ikoma Y, Ando F, Yano M. Bone mineral density in post-menopausal female subjects is associated with serum antioxidant carotenoids. Osteoporos Int. 2007 Sep 11
- Schmiege SJ, Aiken LS, Sander JL, Gerend MA. Osteoporosis prevention among young women: Psychosocial models of calcium consumption and weight-bearing exercise. Health Psychol. 2007 Sep;26(5):577-87
- Tang BM, Eslick GD, Nowson C, Smith C, Bensoussan A. Use of calcium or calcium in combination with vitamin D supplementation to prevent fractures and bone loss in people aged 50 years and older: a meta-analysis. Lancet. 2007 Aug 25;370(9588):657-66
- Varenna M, Binelli L, Casari S, Zucchi F, Sinigaglia L. Effects of dietary calcium intake on body weight and prevalence of osteoporosis in early postmenopausal women. Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 Sep;86(3):639-44
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