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Postmenopausal Osteoporosis

Home > Postmenopausal Osteoporosis

Aim: Wake up to the call of weak bone and muscle

What is Osteoporosis?

The bones support the rest of the body, enabling all kinds of movement and activity. Osteoporosis is a condition where bones become fragile and if not treated, can progress painlessly until, seemingly from nowhere resulting in a bone break.

 

Osteoporosis occurs when the spokes of the lattice become thin and break. Although osteoporosis usually affects the whole skeleton, the most common fractures are in the wrist, spine and hip. Bone loss and risk for fractures predominantly occurs at menopause and with ageing.

 

Lifestyle ,diseases and certain medications can accelerate bone loss. Many people first become aware of osteoporosis after an initial fracture but too many ignore this warning sign and only find out about osteoporosis after a more serious break. Muscle mass and strength plays an important role to support the bone and prevent frailty and falls.

 

The good news is that osteoporosis and fractures are preventable by early diagnosis and treatment. According to the World Health Organisation, DXA scan is the gold standard to diagnose osteoporosis.

Signs and Symptoms of Osteoporosis

There are typically no symptoms in the early stages of bone loss. But once bones have been weakened by osteoporosis, you may experience signs and symptoms that include:
– Back pain, caused by a fractured or collapsed vertebra
– Loss of height over time
– A stooped posture
– A bone fracture that occurs much more easily than expected

Key facts about Osteoporosis

– Osteoporosis is treatable and preventable
– Osteoporosis is very common. There are over 50,00,000 osteoporosis related fractures in the India per year, yet many fractures can be prevented by treatment
– In India there are over 10 to 15 thousand deaths that occur every month as a result of a hip fracture
– 1 in 3 women and 1 in 5 men over the age of 50 in the India will have osteoporosis
– Every 15 seconds someone suffers an osteoporosis-related fracture
– At the Tanvir Hospital, we are trying to raise awareness of the condition so that future fractures and breaks can be prevented

Causes of Osteoporosis

Your bones are in a constant state of renewal — new bone is made and old bone is broken down. When young, your body makes new bone faster than it breaks down old bone and your bone mass increases. Most people reach their peak bone mass by their early 30s. As we 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. The higher your peak bone mass, the more bone you have “in the bank” the less likely you are to develop osteoporosis as you age.

 

Other factors for developing osteoporosis include:
– A sedentary lifestyle (e.g lack of exercise, not being active)
– Drinking excess alcohol
– Smoking
– Low sun exposure and lack of vitamin D
– Low calcium levels
– Inflammatory conditions (e.g arthritis)
– Genetic variation
– Drugs, such as steroids
– Apoptosis (cell death)

FAQs:

How is osteoporosis diagnosed?

By doing a DXA