This is an indepth article on osteoporosis. Find out what osteoporosis is, what causes it, how to prevent it, what tests need to be done and who is in danger of being affecting by it. Learn what to do if you've been diagnosed with osteoporosis and how you can keep it under control, as well as how to keep bones healthy and how to follow your T-scores.
What is Osteoporosis?
Osteoporosis is the weakening and thinning of the bones within our body. Remodeling is the continual changing of our bones. During the transformation, old bone vanishes and is replaced with new bone. People who suffer from osteoporosis do experience new bone growth, but bone mass density is lost faster than it is replaced.
Osteoporosis has no symptoms in the early stage. As time passes, bones weaken and thin and fractures easily occur; often from everyday activities such as lifting or from very minor injuries that wouldn’t ordinarily cause fractures in healthy bone.
The most common areas that are easily fractured are the spine, hip and wrist.
Who is Most Affected by Osteoporosis?
Though men can get osteoporosis, women are more often affected, especially during and after going through menopause. One in eight women and one in eight men over the age of 50 will suffer from osteoporosis.
Signs and Symptoms
A fracture of the spine, hip or wrist that is known as a low-trauma facture. This means the fracture is caused by a minor fall or injury.
A loss of height over the period of a few years.
The forward curving of the upper back. Health care professionals often refer to this condition as Dowager’s hump, or kyphosis.
Certain kinds of back pain.
How Our Bones Change
Over the course of our lifetime, our bones change constantly. During childhood, our bones grow quickly. When teenagers reach their maximum height, their bones reach their maximum length. The daily intake of a calcium supplement should be taken at this time, along with a supplement of Vitamin D, which helps our bodies absorb the calcium. Exercise is very important to build and maintain healthy bones during this time.
As teenagers move into young adulthood, their bones become denser. Between the age of 25 and 30 humans reach their peak bone mass. This is the highest bone density they will reach during their lifetime. To maximize bone strength, it is important that you become physically active by getting a lot of exercise while taking adequate doses of both calcium and Vitamin D.
When humans reach age 35, their bone mass density begins to slowly decline. Bone loss can be minimized by continuing to exercise and take a daily supplement of calcium and Vitamin D.