Osteoporosis - Detection, Prevention and Treatment

Detection

There are no obvious physical signs of osteoporosis. It can therefore go unnoticed for years. Quite often the first indication is when a person breaks one of their bones in what might have been normally a minor accident.

If a doctor suspects osteoporosis, he or she can order a bone scan to test the strength or density of the bones. This scan is now available at many hospitals throughout the country. The results will tell how much risk there is of fractures. It takes about fifteen minutes while the bones are X-rayed. The dose of radiation is tiny - about the same as spending a day out in the sun. The technique is called Dual Energy X-ray Apsorptiometry and is known as DEXA.

Prevention

There is a great deal that can be done throughout life to guard against the condition.

Healthy diet. Children and adults need a diet which contains the right amount of calcium. The best sources of this are milk, cheese and yoghurt, and foods such as tinned sardines. Skimmed milk actually contains more calcium per pint than full fat milk. The recommended daily intake of calcium is 1,000 milligrams (mg) or 1500mg if over 60 years. A pint of milk a day, plus a normal amount of other foods which contain calcium will do the trick.
Children's exercise. Children should actively participate in sports of other forms of exercise to help strengthen their bones.
Adult exercise. For the same reason, adults should keep physically active all the way into retirement. Choose 'weight-bearing' exercises - any activity which involves walking or running.
Smoking. Avoid smoking
Drinking. Avoid drinking too much alcohol. The recommended daily maximum for a woman is 2 - 3 units. For a man it is 3 - 4 units. A unit is a single measure of spirits, or half a pint of normal strength beer of lager, or a standard size glass of 8% alcohol by volume wine.

Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT)

Women who have been through the menopause may want to consider HRT, since this can be a very good way of preventing osteoporosis, but all treatments have risks and HRT does not suit everyone. The main advantages of HRT are that the loss of bone is slowed down and it also helps prevent heart disease. The main disadvantages are that monthly periods return and that there can be a temporary tenderness around the breasts and some temporary nausea. There is a very slight increase in the risk of breast cancer.

Treatment

Apart from the preventative measures already mentioned, there are some drugs and treatments available if you are suffering from osteoporosis. These may arrest the loss of bone or reduce the risk of fractures.

Calcium and Vitamin D. If people with osteoporosis take small daily amounts of vitamin D, along with 1000mg of calcium, their bones seem to be less likely to break.
Etidronate (Didronel). This drug slows the normal process of bone loss and has been used effectively a treatment for osteoporosis. The treatment is not continuous, but takes place in cycles. Once every three months, the patient takes sodium etidronate (also known under the trade names Didronel or Didronel PMO) for a period of two weeks. This takes place for three years. Daily doses of calcium are taken as well, but not on the days etidronate is taken.
Alendronate (Phosomax). Alendronate is a similar drug to etidronate, but is taken as a daily dose.
Calcitonin. This is a substance which the body produces naturally and helps keep the bones healthy. In certain cases, when used as a treatment, it has enabled the bones of people with osteoporosis to grow stronger. Calcitonin is not often prescribed because it can only be given in injection form.

Helen Murray writes and edits content for use on numerous websites including Osteoporosis [http://www.findoutaboutosteoporosis.com], Stretch marks [http://www.strangemarks.com] & Acid Reflux

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Osteoporosis - Treatment and Prevention

If you are a woman who is gong through menopause, you are at risk for osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is prevalent in 20% of women who are 50 and over, and among those women, half of them will experience bone fractures and breakages due to osteoporosis, which is something they need to guard against. New bones are created by phosphate and calcium during our youth, but this process begins to get slower as we get older. Your body can even reabsorb the calcium and phosphate, so your bones become even more fragile, making them much more likely to break.

Osteoporosis works very gradually against you. You can lose bone density and bone strength as the years go on, and even decades in, leaving your bones much weaker than they were in your youth. If you are going through menopause, women who are losing estrogen can get osteoporosis; men can experience drops in testosterone as they age, which also can result in the condition. If you don't take in enough calcium, you can also get osteoporosis. People can often not know that they even have osteoporosis until their condition is advanced.

You can also get osteoporosis in a number of ways besides aging and lack of calcium in your diet. Cushing Syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, hyperparathyroidism, and hyperthyroidism can all lead to osteoporosis. You'll also be more likely to get it if your family has a genetic predisposition towards it. If you go into menopause too early, if you weight too little, if you smoke and drink too much, or take steroids and anti-seizure drugs, that can also contribute to the problem. Get Tested

Osteoporosis can be discovered through the administering of a variety of tests. A DEXA, or densitometry scan, is a bone density test that can help determine overall bone density. You can also get hip X-rays and spinal CT scans, but DEXA is far more accurate for finding osteoporosis. You can even get your blood and urine tested, so you can eliminate other possible medical conditions which may contribute to bone loss.

Treatment With Medication

Your physician will treat your osteoporosis in several ways -

1) By providing pain relief

2) By treating your current bones and making them stronger

3) Providing treatments to keep your bones from breaking again

If you are postmenopausal, you can find a variety of drugs that are designed to do this for you. One popular osteoporosis treatment is biophosphates, which are medications such as Actonel, Boniva and Fosamax. You can take them in the form of monthly or weekly pills. You can also get calcitonin, which is injected into your body or inhaled as a spray into your nose, which relives your pain and can retard bone loss. You can try to treat your osteoporosis with hormone replacement therapy; although this is no longer a favored treatment, as there is a long history of bad side effects. If you are a woman who is under a high risk of bone fractures, you might want to do a parathyroid hormone treatment. You would have to inject yourself daily with Forteo, which is a teriparatide, from home. You can cut spine breaks in half by being administered Evista, which is a Raloxifene drug that can help with this. However, it only seems to work with the spine, so wrists and hip fractures will require separate treatment.

Altering Your Lifestyle

If you're worried about osteoporosis, be sure to get the recommended 1,200 mg of calcium you need every day, as well as 1,000 IU of vitamin D3. You'll be able to absorb calcium into your body with the vitamin D.

You can also do balancing and weight bearing exercises so you can still work your body with osteoporosis. You'll keep yourself from falling much more often with the balancing, and you can keep your bone loss at bay as well. Anything that involves you fighting gravity on your feet qualifies as a weight bearing exercise. Biking and swimming don't count, but everything else usually works. You can walk, dance, lift weights, hike, and even play tennis, all of which can be great weight bearing exercises you can try out. You can also do yoga and tai chi in order to increase flexibility and help with your balance as you go through menopause.

Please visit Signs of Menopause Guide for additional information about what to expect during menopause. There are articles about hormone replacement therapy (HRT), natural treatment methods, menopause symptoms and more.

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