Articles > Osteoporosis Prevention and Treatment

Osteoporosis is a skeletal disease characterized by severe bone loss, and is a common cause of fractures (broken bones), especially in women who are beyond menopause. However, by strengthening your bones, slowing bone loss, and avoiding falls, you can help prevent or treat the condition and avoid fractures.

The body is constantly at work breaking down and rebuilding the bones. Specialized bone cells called osteoblasts pull calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus from the blood to build bone mass. Even with a healthy diet and regular exercise, at approximately 30 years the body will begin to lose more bone than it forms. Usually there are not any obvious symptoms of osteoporosis until a fracture occurs or a vertebrae collapses causing a loss of height and a hump in the back (dowager's hump).

Osteoporosis affects more than 20 million people in the U.S. and causes 1.5 million fractures each year. Two hundred and fifty thousand of those 1.5 million fractures are hip fractures and for 300,000 people (20% of fractures) it leads to death. Of the 1.2 million that do not die, 600,000 (40% of the fractures) will require long term nursing care because of complications.

Osteoporosis is four times more common in women than in men, and the most common form of the disease is postmenopausal osteoporosis. Fortunately, osteoporosis is completely preventable and curable with the proper nutrition and exercise.

Yes, you did read that right, it said "completely preventable and curable." For years it has been thought that loss of bone density and osteoporosis is an uncontrollable, inevitable, and irreversible part of getting old. This statistic has been based on an aging population that has done very little to stop osteoporosis from affecting them.

Welcome to the new era of health alternatives. A time where the medical myths of yesteryear are being completely overturned. A time when people are defying the statistical averages by taking charge of their own health. Yes, aging will affect your bone density, but brittle shallow bones are not inevitable, uncontrollable, nor irreversible.


Osteoporosis Diseases

Type I osteoporosis is caused by hormonal changes while Type II is caused by dietary deficiencies. Osteoporosis can also be caused by major surgery, corticosteroid drugs (anti-inflammatory drugs), liver cirrhosis, Crohn's inflammatory disease of the bowel, cystic fibrosis, and hormone deficiencies.

Usually, osteoporosis is diagnosed by bone densitometry scans, and the goals in treatment are to preserve the remaining mass and the basic structure of the bone and try to repair and reconstruct damaged areas of the bone.

Postmenopausal women are at a high risk for developing osteoporosis, since once they hit menopause their bodies stop producing estrogen (one of the hormones that regulates bone remodeling). With the estrogen gone, women begin to lose bone at a rate of two to five percent per year during the first five to seven years after menopause.

This means that one out of two women over the age of 50 will have an osteoporosis-related fracture in their lifetime. Osteoporosis is less common in men with one in eight men suffering from an osteoporosis-related fracture in their lifetime. Aging men suffer a decrease in testosterone and since testosterone is converted into estrogen this loss of testosterone causes similar problems for men as estrogen does for women.

The following are also risk factors for osteoporosis:

• Age: After the age of 30 the body will begin to lose more bone than it forms unless proper attention is paid to a healthy diet, regular exercise to strengthen the bones, and supplementation as necessary to prevent deficiencies.

• Nutrition: A diet low in calcium and certain trace minerals combined with a reduction in the natural hydrochloric acid of the stomach can accelerate the osteoporosis process by as much as 70% or more, making nutrition the single greatest factor in the development and progression of the disease.

• Physical Impairments: Those with arthritis which limits mobility and those on medications which make them unsteady or those with poor eyesight, will have an increased risk of fractures in later life.

• Heredity: A family history of fractures may indicate a problem with calcium uptake and absorption. A naturally small frame with less bone mass to begin with can also accelerate the risk.

Other risk factors include being white or Asian, being lean, being inactive (regular exercise is proven to strengthen the bones), never being pregnant, having a gastric or small-bowel resection or long-term glucocorticosteroid therapy, smoking and/or heavy alcohol use, suffering from hyperthyroidism and hyperparathyroidism, and the long-term use of anticonvulsants.


Osteoporosis Prevention and Treatment

There are four steps to prevent osteoporosis. No one step alone is enough to prevent osteoporosis but all four may.

Four Steps to Bone Health and Osteoporosis Prevention:

• Get your daily recommended amounts of calcium and vitamin D
• Engage in regular weight-bearing exercise
• Have a bone density test and take medication when appropriate
• Avoid smoking and excessive alcohol

Calcium
Calcium is needed for the heart, muscles and nerves to function properly and for blood to clot. Inadequate calcium is thought to contribute to the development of osteoporosis. National nutrition surveys have shown that many women and young girls consume less than half the amount of calcium recommended to grow and maintain healthy bones.

Depending on your age, an appropriate calcium intake falls between 1000 and 1300 mg a day. If you have difficulty getting enough calcium from the foods you eat, you may take a calcium supplement to make up the difference.

Vitamin D
Vitamin D is needed for the body to absorb calcium. Without enough vitamin D, you will be unable to absorb calcium from the foods you eat, and your body will have to take calcium from your bones. Vitamin D comes from two sources: through the skin following direct exposure to sunlight and from the diet. Experts recommend a daily intake between 400 and 800 IU per day, which also can be obtained from fortified dairy products, egg yolks, saltwater fish and liver.

Exercise
Exercise is also important to good bone health. If you exercise regularly in childhood and adolescence, you are more likely to reach your peak bone density than those who are inactive. The best exercise for your bones is weight-bearing exercise such as walking, dancing, jogging, stair-climbing, racquet sports and hiking. If you have been sedentary most of your adult life, be sure to check with your healthcare provider before beginning any exercise program.

Bone Mineral Density Tests
A Bone Mineral Density test (BMD) is the only way to diagnose osteoporosis and determine your risk for future fracture. Since osteoporosis can develop undetected for decades until a fracture occurs, early diagnosis is important.

A BMD measures the density of your bones (bone mass) and is necessary to determine whether you need medication to help maintain your bone mass, prevent further bone loss and reduce fracture risk. A bone mineral density (BMD) test is a special type of test that is accurate, painless and noninvasive.


Medications for Prevention and Treatment
Currently bisphosphonates (alendronate and risedronate), calcitonin, estrogens, parathyroid hormone and raloxifene are approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the prevention and/or treatment of osteoporosis.

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