Other Names:
Brittle Bones

Symptoms:
There is skeletal pain (especially in the hip and back), deformities (such as a hump in the upper back), a stooping and rounding of the shoulders, increased susceptibility to fractures, and a reduction in height. Do you find that your clothes are getting bigger?

Unfortunately, symptoms are frequently not very obvious until the bones are quite weak.

Cause:
Osteoporosis is a reduction in the total mass of bone, so that the remaining bone is fragile or "brittle." This weakening continues to increase. The bones actually become thinner. Bone formation is slowed; bone reabsorption increases, causing this loss of bone mass.

About 25-30% of all white females in the U.S. reveal symptoms of this condition, especially after menopause. Older men, above 50, also have it, but to a lesser degree than women. Osteoporosis is rare in black men, but somewhat more common in black women.

White women in America tend to lose 30-40% of their bone mass between 55-70.

But younger women should be watchful; research indicates that osteoporosis often begins early in life rather than just after menopause. (However, bone loss definitely accelerates after that time, due to a drop in estrogen levels.)

People with larger and denser bones tend to have less trouble with osteoporosis later in life. They started out with more bony structure.

A major cause is a lack of calcium intake over a period of years. Other causes include inability to absorb calcium as well, a calcium-phosphorous imbalance (too much phosphorous), lack of exercise, or lack of certain hormones.

Still other factors include late puberty, early menopause (natural or artificially induced), chronic liver or kidney disease, and the long-term use of anticoagulants, corticosteroids, and antiseizure medications. Smoking is an excellent way to damage your bones.

Compression fractures in the vertebrae occur as bone loss advances. This causes a loss in height and crowds the nerves, resulting in pain. Nerve damage is possible. Older women often have a hump in the upper back as a result.

Osteoporosis can also result in loose teeth which fall out, because the jawbone has weakened.

There are two types of this disease:

Osteoporosis, Type I, is thought to be caused by hormonal changes, especially a loss of estrogen.

Osteoporosis, Type II, traces its cause to dietary factors (lack of calcium, vitamin D, etc.), poor absorption, and intake of foods which block absorption.

Treatment:
• Sleep on a firm bed to give support to the spine.

• Do not lift heavy objects. When you do lift, do it carefully and properly.

• Avoid fatigue.

• Look around your house and yard and make necessary changes so you will be less likely to fall (placement of lights, rugs, treads on stairways, etc.)