Osteoporosis –symptoms, causes and management

Osteoporosis is made up of two words osteo which means bones and porosis which means porous, together it means porous bone. Osteoporosis is a condition where the bones become brittle with an increased tendency to fracture, especially the joints of hips, wrist or spine. It occurs when the creation of new bone is slow and cannot keep up with the removal of old bones.

Symptoms :

 

There are no symptoms in the initial stage, however, when the disease progresses, the following symptoms are experienced by you:

• Back pain is either caused due to fractures or collapsed vertebra.
• Stooped posture.
• Loss of height
• Fracture with even the slightest injury.

Causes:

• Lack of an adequate amount of nutrients in the diet. The following nutrients are very important for bone growth:

1. Calcium is required for bone growth and maintenance.
2. Vitamin D is used for the absorption of calcium.
3. Other nutrients like magnesium, phosphorus, vitamin B, vitamin B12, and Vitamin-K is essential for bone health.

• Food that decreases calcium levels or hampers absorption of calcium are:

1. Food that is rich in animal protein.
2. Caffeine causes a decrease in calcium absorption and also causes calcium loss as calcium gets excreted through urine.
3. Too much salt intake causes loss of calcium through the kidneys.

• Exercise is very important as helps to protect bones from Osteoporosis. Inactivity makes bones weak and more susceptible to fracture than the conditioned bones.
• Low levels of estrogen cause a lack of new bone-cell formation as estrogen plays an important role in the formation of osteoblast.
• In men testosterone protects bones and as the level of testosterone decreases it can cause bone loss.
• Diseases like Celiac disease or IBD prevent the absorption of vitamin D. The deficiency of vitamin D prevents the absorption of calcium causing weak bones.
• Kidney and liver diseases
• Hyperparathyroidism caused due to too much of the parathyroid hormone can result in osteoporosis because the excess hormone extracts calcium from bones.
• Hyperthyroidism also leads to bone loss.
• Certain medicines also cause bone loss.
• Smoking causes difficulties in the absorption of calcium in bones.
• Excessive consumption of alcohol decreases the ability of the body to use calcium.

Risk factors:

The following people are at higher risk of developing Osteoporosis:

• Females
• Old age
• Family history
• History of the broken bone/s.
• White people
• People with a small thin frame
• Females after menopause
• People who smoke
• Physically inactive people
• Consumption of alcohol
• Certain medication

Complications:

• Fracture even by slightest injury
• Pain
• Hunched back

Lifestyle tips for osteoporosis:

• Consume a good amount of protein of vegetarian origin to strengthen muscles.
• Maintain a healthy weight, underweight increases the risk of bone loss whereas overweight increases the chances of fracture.
• Eat healthy food rich with vitamins and minerals
• Avoid unhealthy junk food
• Exercise regularly
• Avoid smoking tobacco
• Avoid excessive consumption of alcohol
• Increase fluid intake
• Reduce stress levels
• Allow exposure to the sun.

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