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- What is osteoporosis?
- Symptoms of osteoporosis
- Causes of osteoporosis
- Prevention of osteoporosis
- Risk factors for osteoporosis
- Complications of osteoporosis
- When to see a doctor about osteoporosis
- Diagnosis of osteoporosis
- Conventional treatment of osteoporosis
- Alternative/complementary treatment of osteoporosis
- Living with osteoporosis
- Caring for someone with osteoporosis
Osteoporosis occurs when the bones lose more of their minerals (such as calcium) and other substances that exist in the bone more quickly than they are replaced, so the bones lose some of their mass, become thinner, brittle and weak which can then break (fracture) or crack more easily.
Osteoporosis makes the bones weak, brittle and more likely to break.
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 being broken down, then the bone becomes less dense, has less bone mass, is more brittle and more prone to breaking. This is how osteoporosis develops.
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 menopause. 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.
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Facts about osteoporosis
- Osteoporosis is more common in women, affecting as many as 25-33% of all women over 50 years
- Approximately 1 in every 40 men will develop osteoporosis
- Osteoporosis is the most common cause of bone fractures in women over 50 years
- Osteoporosis, a debilitating condition, which is generally mostly preventable through better dietary and lifestyle choices
- Osteoporosis, once it is diagnosed, is difficult to reverse but its progression can be slowed down with the appropriate treatment (conventional or alternative or a combination of both )
- Magnesium regulates bone metabolism and so is important in the treatment of osteoporosis
- Menopausal women are at a higher risk of developing osteoporosis due to their diminished eostrogen levels
- By the time osteoporosis has been diagnosed, the disease has already progressed to about 30% bones loss
- Women who are very thin have more risk of developing osteoporosis than other women
- Bone is living tissue that is continuously being broken down and rebuilt, by the body
- After the age of 25, there is a general loss of bone tissue as bone breaks down more quickly that it is rebuilt
- Various hormones play a role in the breakdown and rebuilding of bone tissue in both women and men
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