Osteoporosis - Do You Know if You are Susceptible?

Osteoporosis - Do You Know if You are Susceptible?
Osteoporosis is a disease that thins and weakens bones to
the point where they break easily — especially bones
in the hip, backbone (spine), and wrist. Osteoporosis is
called the "silent disease" — you may not notice any
changes until a bone breaks. But your bones have been
losing strength over many years.

Bone is living tissue. To keep bones strong, the body is
always breaking down old bone and replacing it with new
tissue. As people enter their 40's and 50's, more bone is
broken down than is replaced. A close look at the inside of
bone would show something that looks like a honeycomb. When
you have osteoporosis, the spaces in this honeycomb grow
larger. The outer shell of your bones also gets thinner.
All this makes your bones weaker.

Who Gets Osteoporosis?

Ten million Americans have osteoporosis, and eight million
of them are women. About 34 million more have osteopenia.
This means they don't have osteoporosis yet, but have lost
enough bone to make them more likely to get it. One in two
women and one in eight men over age 50 will have an
osteoporosis-related fracture during their lives. White and
Asian women are most likely to get osteoporosis. Other
women at great risk include those who:

· have a family history of the disease,

· have not gotten enough calcium throughout their
lives,

· had an early menopause,

· had surgery to remove their ovaries,

· had extended bed rest,

· used certain medicines for a long time, or

· have small body frames.

The risk of osteoporosis grows as you get older. Bone loss
may begin slowly in some people when they are in their late
thirties. At the time of menopause women may lose bone
quickly for several years. Then the loss may continue but
more slowly. As men age, they do not have the same kinds of
striking hormone changes as women do in mid-life because
they do not have a menopause. In men the loss of bone mass
occurs more slowly. But, by age 65 or 70 men and women are
losing bone at the same rate.

How Do I Know If I Am Losing Bone?

Losing height or having a bone break easily is often the
first sign of osteoporosis. But it doesn't need to be. Bone
density is a term that describes how solid your bones are.
Ordinary x-rays do not show bone loss until a large amount
of bone mass is gone. The best way to measure bone density
is by a DEXA-scan (dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry). Ask
your doctor about this test if you think you are at risk
for osteoporosis or if you are a woman around the age of
menopause or older.

The DEXA-scan tells what your risk for a fracture is. It
could show that you have normal bone density. Or, it could
show that you have osteopenia or even osteoporosis.

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John Russell of IH Distribution, LLC brings you health,
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