Facts about Osteoporosis You Did Not Know

By: Sheila Ffloyd

Osteoporosis is one of the most prevalent conditions facing women today. This disease of the bones is caused by an excessive loss of calcium, resulting in brittle bones that can easily fracture.

Who is Prone to Osteoporosis?

While men can develop osteoporosis, the disease is most often found in women. The disease usually occurs following the onset of menopause, after the age of forty. As women experience menopause, their bodies produce less estrogen. Estrogen helps our bodies to retain calcium, and is instrumental in helping the bones stay strong. For this reason, many post-menopausal women will supplement their calcium intake in order to retain their bone density.

The rate in which osteoporosis affects women is much higher than the number of men afflicted with the disease. This is partly due to the fact that men usually have a greater bone mass than women. The natural aging process, however, can cause osteoporosis to develop in men as well as women.

Females of menopausal age already fall into the most prominent risk group for developing osteoporosis. Caucasian women seem to be at a higher risk. Osteoporosis also tends to affect individuals with lessened muscular activity. Being underweight can also be a contributing factor, so those with eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia can be more likely to develop the disease. Finally, a family history of osteoporosis presents a major risk factor. If you know that osteoporosis runs in your family, make positive lifestyle changes now to help prevent the condition from developing.

Diagnosing Osteoporosis

Early diagnosis and preliminary treatment of osteoporosis can be tricky, because many people don't realize they have the condition until they suffer from some kind of injury. Patients will often suffer from a bone fracture before they receive a positive osteoporosis diagnosis.

Thankfully, advancements in modern health care have made it possible for doctors to detect the disease in its early stages, and even prevent osteoporosis from occurring at all. Recent advances in bone scanning have also enabled doctors to test the bone density of their patients. With early detection and proper treatment, the progress of osteoporosis can be slowed or even halted before too much damage is done.

If you feel that you are at risk of developing osteoporosis, there are steps that you can take. The first and most important step is to discuss your symptoms and concerns with your doctor or healthcare professional. He or she will take a full medical history and ask you to undergo a complete physical exam. If you appear to be at risk for developing osteoporosis, your doctor should assess your thyroid levels, test for forms of arthritis and order a blood test analysis to check your calcium levels.

Using a special machine called a bone densitometer, your doctor can also take X-rays to view your bone density. This machine provides an expert view into the inside of your bones, and is a painless yet accurate way for doctors to measure your bone density. The test results can help your doctor to determine whether you are at risk of developing osteoporosis.

Osteoporosis is one of the most common forms of arthritis in the United States. Fortunately, increased education and public attention has led to a greater awareness of the condition. Now, more than ever before, women are able to fully understand the importance of preventing osteoporosis, and have greater knowledge of the treatment options available.