Osteoporosis Causes and Treatment
Overview
What is Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is a disease in which calcium degeneration occurs in bones .That lack of calcium causes the brittleness of bones.
That's why Osteoporosis causes bones to become weak and brittle , those bones become so brittle that a fall or even mild stresses such as bending over or coughing or sneezing can cause micro fracture in bones. Osteoporosis-related fractures most commonly occur in the spine, hips or wrist and near knee joint.
Bone is a living tissue that is constantly being broken down and replaced or repaired. Osteoporosis occurs when the creation of new bone doesn't keep up with the loss of old bone.
Osteoporosis affects men and women of all races and rarely children. But white and Asian women, especially older women who are past menopause, are at highest risk than other women. Medications, healthy diet and weight-bearing exercise can help prevent bone loss
or strengthen already weak bones.
Symptoms
There typically are no symptoms in the early stages of bone loss. But once your bones have been weakened by osteoporosis, you might have signs and symptoms that include:
Dull Back pain, caused by a fractured or collapsed vertebra or compression fractures in spine.
Loss of the height over time.
A stooped posture.
A bone that breaks much more easily than expected
When to see a doctor
You might want to talk to your doctor about osteoporosis if you went through early menopause or took corticosteroids for several months at a time, or if either of your parents had hip fractures as it might be in hereditary too.
Causes
Our bones are in a constant state of renewal — new bones are made and old bones are broken down. When you're young, your body makes new bone faster than it breaks down old bone and your bone mass increases. After the early 20s this process slows down, and most people reach their peak bone mass by the age of 30. As people age, bone mass is lost faster than it's created.
How likely you are to develop osteoporosis depends partly on how much bone mass you attained in your youth. Peak bone mass is partly inherited and varies also by ethnic group. The higher your peak bone mass, the more bone you have "in the bank" and the less likely you are to develop osteoporosis as you age.
Sometimes some other causes are also important such as
Intestinal defects
Mal absorption or less absorption of calcium from intestinal cells
Indigestion problems
Lack of vitamin D absorption from food
Lack of sunlight exposure resulting in less vitamin D production which is necessary for calcium deposition on the bones
Less calcium in diet
Less silicon in diet which is important mineral as far as bone marrow density is concerned.
Risk factors
A number of factors can increase the likelihood that you'll develop osteoporosis — including your age, race, lifestyle choices, and medical conditions and treatments.
Unchangeable risks
Some risk factors for osteoporosis are out of your control, including:
Your sex. Women are much more likely to develop osteoporosis than are men.
Age. The older you get, the greater your risk of osteoporosis.
Race. You're at greatest risk of osteoporosis if you're white or of Asian descent.
Family history. Having a parent or sibling with osteoporosis puts you at greater risk, especially if your mother or father fractured a hip.
Body frame size. Men and women who have small body frames tend to have a higher risk because they might have less bone mass to draw from as they age.
Hormone levels
Osteoporosis is more common in people who have too much or too little of certain hormones in their bodies. Examples include:
Sex hormones. Lowered sex hormone levels tend to weaken bone. The fall in oestrogen levels in women at menopause is one of the strongest risk factors for developing osteoporosis. Treatments for prostate cancer that reduce testosterone levels in men and treatments for breast cancer that reduce oestrogen levels in women are likely to accelerate bone loss.
Thyroid problems. Too much thyroid hormone can cause bone loss. This can occur if your thyroid is overactive or if you take too much thyroid hormone medication to treat an underactive thyroid.
Other glands. Osteoporosis has also been associated with overactive parathyroid and adrenal glands.
As mentioned above Dietary factors are also responsible
Osteoporosis is more likely to occur in people who have:
Low calcium intake. A lifelong lack of calcium plays a role in the development of osteoporosis. Low calcium intake contributes to diminished bone density, early bone loss and an increased risk of fractures.
Eating disorders. Severely restricting food intake and being underweight weakens bone in both men and women.
Gastrointestinal surgery. Surgery to reduce the size of your stomach or to remove part of the intestine limits the amount of surface area available to absorb nutrients, including calcium. These surgeries include those to help you lose weight and for other gastrointestinal disorders.
Steroids and other medications
Long-term use of oral or injected corticosteroid medications, such as prednisone and cortisone, interferes with the bone-rebuilding process. Osteoporosis has also been associated with medications used to combat or prevent:
Seizures
Gastric reflux
Cancer