- Osteoporosis is a condition that causes the bones to weaken and make them much more susceptible to a fracture. It is often identified only after a bone has broken. It most often causes fractures of the wrist, spine and hip. These fractures can be caused by a fall or by something as simple as a strong sneeze.
A simple bone mineral density test (BMD) can identify any low bone density. It's similar to an X-ray and typically takes a picture of your wrist and ankle density. If you have a baseline test done, then yearly tests will identify any degradation of your bone density. This is especially important if you have a family history of osteoporosis. - Osteoporosis can be debilitating. Because it is silent disease that is often diagnosed only after a fracture occurs, the patient often has significant skeletal damage. As a result, it can cause permanent or prolonged disability. It may also impair the person's ability to walk as damage to the spine is one of the most commonly seen effects of the disease. Vertebral fractures can also cause deformity and loss of height as well as cause significant pain.
- To avoid osteoporosis, it's critical that children get enough calcium and vitamin to build strong bones during childhood and early adolescence. Approximately 90 percent of your bone mass as an adult is created before the age of 18 in girls and the age of 20 in boys. A diet that is rich in dairy products as well as such vegetables as broccoli and kale, which are both rich in calcium, helps to increase calcium sources in the diet.
Check your daily recommended amounts for both calcium and Vitamin D (see Resources) and make sure your workout includes weight-bearing exercises, that help improve density, and muscle-strengthening exercises, that help improve overall skeletal strength. Smoking and excessive use of alcohol won't help your calcium intake, so avoid these activities. - Treatments for osteoporosis are promising. While the disease cannot be cured, the FDA has approved several medications to treat it. These fall into two categories: antiresorptive medications that are bisphosphonates and other antiresorptive medication. Biphosphonates are medications such as; Alendronate (Fosamax), Ibandronate (Boniva), Risedronate (Actonel) and Zoledronic Acid (Reclast). Other antiresorptive medications include; Calcitonin (Fortical and Miacalcin), Estrogen Therapy (ET) and Hormone Therapy (HT) as well as Raloxifene (Evista). There is also a bone forming medication called Teriparatide (Forteo).
- To manage your osteoporisis, you need to take the medication as it has been prescribed and stay with the plan until you and your healthcare provider decide to change. You also need to be sure that you incorporate regular exercise and a healthy diet into the treatment. Antiresorptive medications seek to prevent further bone loss and reduce the potential for fractures. The anabolic medications is used to rebuild bone and increase bone mass.
Some healthcare providers will experiment with a "medication holiday" to see how your body is managing on its own. In this case, after you've had a good response to the medication, you'll go off it for a time and your doctor will monitor your bone density. This often happens for patients who have been on the medication with good response for 5 or more years.
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