Paget’s disease- symptoms, causes, and management
Paget’s disease is a chronic disease of remodeling of old bones and replacing them with new bones. This process shifts out of balance making the new bone weak, abnormally shaped and brittle.
Most of the people who suffer from this disease are asymptomatic and the disease is diagnosed only if the person gets an X-ray done.
Symptoms:
Pain is the most prominent symptom. Many people with Paget’s disease are asymptomatic, but there are people who experience the following symptoms.
- Pain due to fracture of bones. Fractures are really common as the bones are very brittle.
- Pain because of deformed bones.
- Arthritis in the advanced stage in joints near the affected bones.
- Compression of nerves due to enlarged bones causing loss of sensation or movement.
- Other symptoms associated with the advanced stage of Paget’s disease are:
- Extreme fatigue
- Constipation
- Weakness
- Loss of appetite
- Abdominal pain
- Overgrowth in the head can cause a headache.
- If the spine is affected by Paget’s disease then nerve roots can be compressed causing pain, tingling, and numbness in hands or legs.
- Paget’s disease in legs weakens the bones making it appear bowlegged. It can also put you to the risk of developing osteoarthritis in the knee and hip joints.
Causes:
The actual cause is not known, but the following conditions are thought to be the cause for developing the disease:
- Genetic
- Old age
- People of Anglo Saxon descend
- Environmental factors
Risk factors:
Factors that increase the risk are:
- As the age progresses the chances of developing, Paget’s disease also increases.
- Men are at higher risk than women.
- People with European descend are mostly affected by Paget’s disease. Asian and Scandinavian are at lower risk of developing Paget’s disease.
- People with close relatives having Paget’s disease are at higher risk of developing Paget’s disease later in their life.
Complications:
The disease progresses slowly and is mostly manageable. The complications although rare are the following:
- Fracture and deformity of bones. The affected bones become brittle and fracture on the slightest injury. In advance cases, the bowlegged condition develops affecting the ability to walk.
- Due to change in the shape of the bones due to Paget’s disease causes stress on the adjacent bones in a joint later causing osteoarthritis.
- Neurological problems can be caused if the nerve adjacent to the affected bone is compressed due to abnormal growth of the bones.
- Heart failure
- Bone cancer
Lifestyle modifications to relief symptoms:
- Exercise regularly to maintain good skeletal health.
- Avoid weight gain.
- Avoid smoking tobacco
- Avoid excessive consumption of alcohol and caffeine.
- Eat a healthy and balanced diet
- Avoid stress on affected bones to avoid injury.
- Exercise must be done as advised by the doctor.