Symptoms for Osteoporosis
By: Tsou JinyeuTotal Views: 252, Word Count: 558,
Osteoporosis is well known as a “silent disease”. In this disease, the bones become frail and are more susceptible to breakage. It can affect any bone in the body. Unfortunately, there are very few visible symptoms for osteoporosis. So it is really hard to detect it until proper tests are not conducted.
Causes for Osteoporosis
There are several causes of osteoporosis. Some of them are improper diet (diet lacking in calcium and Vitamin D), irregular exercise, and addiction towards alcohol, smoking and other types of drugs.
There are also some uncontrollable causes that results into osteoporosis. These include family history, gender, low body weight, and low level of estrogen. It has also been found that Asian and white people are at a higher risk to this disease.
Signs and Symptoms for Osteoporosis
The main problem with osteoporosis is that it doesn’t have any specific symptoms. In its early stage, a person can recognize that he/she is suffering from osteoporosis only after a bone gets fractured.
Typical fragility fractures are associated with osteoporosis. These fractures occur in the vertebral column, hip, rib and wrist. The risk of falling also increases with this disease.
At the advanced stage of osteoporosis, loss of height is a common symptom which is quite visible. Loss of height occurs due to weakened spine and patients can lose almost 6 inches in height.
Other symptoms for osteoporosis include bone pain and tenderness, cramps in legs, pain in the neck, spine and back, tooth loss, abdominal pain, broken bones, rib pain, and fatigue. Stooped postures can also be observed due to spinal deformities.
Time to see a Doctor
It is difficult to understand the symptoms for osteoporosis until an individual reaches an advanced stage. So it is recommended by the National Osteoporosis Foundation to undergo a bone density test if:
- Age is more than 65 in women and 70 in case of men
- An individual having any history of broken bone
- A woman is in the postmenopausal stage
- An individual is taking medicines like aromatase inhibitors, prednisone, or anti-seizure drugs.
Test for Osteoporosis
The best way to determine whether you have osteoporosis is by conducting a BMD scan. The BMD test or the bone mineral density test is conducted by using a central DXA and can easily provide evidence that your bones are porous or not.
Prevention for Osteoporosis
The best way to prevent osteoporosis is by maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Avoid or quit cigarette smoking, alcohol and tobacco completely. All these increase the risk of osteoporosis. Maintaining a regular exercise routine is very helpful. This keeps the muscles and bones active. A proper diet is also essential to prevent osteoporosis. A diet consisting of good amount of calcium, phosphorous, Vitamin D & K is very helpful.
However, medications are also available to prevent this disease. There are medicines like raloxifene, bisphosphates, calcitonin, etc. which are found to be very effective in reducing the risk of osteoporosis.
Osteoporosis is a very common disease, affecting almost 8 out of 10 people after the age of 55. Although the symptoms of osteoporosis are very few and appear at an advanced age, one can prevent such a disease if few precautions are taken at an early stage.
About the Author
Dr. Cuthbert is a well known endocrinologist who has done his graduation from Vassar College – Poughkeepsie in New York and MD from Vanderbilt University Medical School, Nashville. His area of interests are bone densitometry, diabetes and nutrition. Nowdays he is working as a medical endocrinologist at NewYork Presbyterian hospital.
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