Other Names:
Osteomalacia

Symptoms:
Early symptoms include nervousness, numbness in the extremities, leg cramps, and painful muscle spasms, as well as restlessness, irritability, and profuse sweating.

Later indications include knock-knees, bowed legs, narrow rib cage, protruding breastbone, or scoliosis (abnormal curvature of the spine). There may be delayed walking, tetany, bony beads along the ribs, and decaying teeth.

In adults, in addition to the above symptoms, aching joints and generalized weakness may also occur.

Cause:
Rickets is caused by a deficiency of vitamin D in children. When it occurs in adults, it is called osteomalacia.

It can result either from not obtaining enough vitamin D in the food or from not getting enough sunlight.

When sunlight strikes the skin, oils there are irradiated, reabsorbed into the blood stream and carried to the liver, where it is stored and sent throughout the body to strengthen the bones. Without this vitamin, the body cannot absorb calcium and phosphorous.

The bones cannot retain calcium, so they become soft. This results in deformities when the bones are required to support weight. Yet weight gain and growth will usually be normal.

The adult form, osteomalacia, generally occurs during pregnancy or breast-feeding. But it may also be caused by a kidney disease or defect, calcium deficiency, a lack of vitamin D, or inability to utilize it. It can also occur in those who do not obtain enough sunshine or whose bodies are so low in fat that they cannot produce the bile needed to absorb the vitamin D in the food.

A deficiency of vitamin C can make the bones less able to retain bone-building minerals.

Osteomalacia is often misdiagnosed as osteoporosis (which see).