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Do You Know How Strong Your Bones Are?
Learn the warning signs, risks, and treatment options for osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is often called the “silent killer.” You can have it for years and never know it—until it’s too late. Luckily, we’re learning more this disease every day and science is finding new ways to fight it.
What is osteoporosis Osteoporosis means “porous bone.” It is a disease in which the density and quality of your bones are reduced. This vastly increases your risk of fracture. Often, your body doesn’t present symptoms of bone mass loss, but it happens silently and progressively. Your first fracture might also be your first symptom that you have the disease.
Why is it serious? Osteoporosis is a serious issue, especially with older patients. Osteoporotic bone breaks are most likely to occur in the hip, spine or wrist, but other bones can break, too. Osteoporosis may limit mobility, and, according to the National Osteoporosis Foundation, twenty percent of seniors who break a hip die within one year from complications related to the broken bone itself or the surgery to repair it.
How can you treat it? Prevention is the best medicine, so be sure to serve your body lots of calcium and bone-building foods. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is always a good idea, and especially helpful for preventing osteoporosis. Get plenty of aerobic and weight-based exercise.
New treatments for the disease include medications that slow bone breakdown. According to the Mayo Clinic, healthy bones continuously break down and rebuild, but as you age, and especially after menopause, bones break down faster.
Osteoporosis medications effectively maintain bone density and can decrease your risk of breaking a bone from osteoporosis.
If you think you may be at risk for osteoporosis, call your provider today to schedule an appointment.
