Osteoporosis is a word you surely have heard before, when you reach a certain age (some call it middle aged) and your physician has started to discuss this problem with you. Osteoporosis is a disease in the bones, which causes bones to be more fragile and brittle and more likely to break. Through Osteoporosis the bone mineral density (BMD) is reduced and several other factors in the bone material are changed.. For women, Osteoporosis is defined as a BMD that is greater in standard deviation from the average bone mass value than 2.5.
Should your physician ever talk about established osteoporosis, than he talks about a BMD with 2.5 or greater deviation and the occurrence of a related bone fracture. Often women that are past the menopause are more likely to have osteoporosis. Sometimes, Osteoporosis will occur in men and women before that age due to certain hormonal issues. Typically osteoporosis fractures occur in the hips, spine and even the wrist bones, however the disease can affect any bone in any part of the body.
First, gather some other quick facts about osteoporosis right here. Did you know that on the age group over 50, one in four women and one in nine men are diagnosed with the disease? In twenty percent of the hip fracture cases related to the disease people die and in fifty percent, people will have a disability after the fracture.
In many cases, osteoporosis could have been prevented. One way to help preventing osteoporosis is exercising all throughout your life. Starting in the early adolescent’s years to build the bone and strengthen the bones through exercise is one great step towards better bone health. Keeping up your exercise throughout your life will increase your strength and reduce bone loss. So one excellent thing you can do for your children in their develpmental years is to get them in the habit of regular exercise.
A healthy diet right from the start is also a very good addition for many reasons. Bones need Vitamin D, Vitamin C and Calcium to form properly and to stay healthy plus a healthy diet can help prevent bone loss and therefore prevent osteoporosis.
Very important for many women to know is that osteoporosis is negatively affected by smoking, drinking coffee and alcohol. Therefore a healthy lifestyle is one of the best choices you can make in your life. Smoking is directly linked as one of the causes for bone loss and osteoporosis (plus of course numberous other illnesses and diseases). If your life style is not one of the healthiest ones, do not worry, you can still turn around and change your life style. In some of the more severe cases, medication is available. Osteoporosis can be treated with bisphosphonates and several other medical treatments.
Important to know for women is that almost any fracture due to osteoporosis and bone loss results in a major surgery and if your hip and spine is affected, prolonged hospital stays, disability and lifetime pain will be with you for the remainder of your life. One of the many reasons why the disease is higher in women after the menopause years is the estrogen level. Estrogen is needed by the female body to reproduce, to be able to get pregnant. Menopause changes the estrogen level in a woman’s body and this is closely related to the increased start of osteoporosis in those years.
If osteoporosis runs in your family or if you are worried you might be a candidate for osteoporosis, make sure to start up all the preventative measures right away. Exercise with good judgment and live a healthy lifestyle. Smoking and alcohol are considered not good for you whether you have osteoporosis or not and therefore it is recommended not to do either one. If you are having trouble eating a healthy balanced diet, consider vitamin supplements as you preventative measures.
