Osteoporosis is a disease that has a delimiting effect on the bones. By the term “osteoporosis”, it means that the bones become more porous and less dense. This situation often leads to fractures and dislocation. Osteoporosis initially does not cause pain and can hardly be noticed. It virtually creeps into the body and does not become known till the fracture of the affected bone occurs.

Osteoporosis is a degenerative disease and once diagnosed with a fracture, after the initial treatment of the fracture, recurring pain occurs intermittently sometimes taking a severe form and at times tolerably mild in form.

Osteoporosis is found to occur with the progression of age and though is said to be prevalent mostly among the women population, no significant evidence has been found why men are equally prone to the disease. It occurs mainly in the hip, wrist and spinal regions and the probability of the disease increases more with advancing age both in men and women. Fractures affecting the vertebrate column are more severe and serious in nature since they often lead to deformity, severe back pain and loss of height. Depression has also been reported to set in, in specific cases leading to other complications.

Symptoms of Osteoporosis

As in most degenerative disease, osteoporosis does not show any symptoms of having set in. In most cases, the patient is hardly aware of the introduction of the disease to the body unless the first tingling pain occurs. The symptoms of osteoporosis are hardly noticeable until the first fracture occurs. Since osteoporosis sets in silently into the body, it is more commonly referred to as the silent epidemic that limits the movement of the person significantly with the progress of the disease.

Noticeable symptoms of osteoporosis appear when a person walks with an uncomfortable hump called the Dowager’s Hump or has difficulty in walking with the normal gait. This is indicative of osteoporosis advancing into the system. A fracture already having taken place proves beyond doubt that the disease has set in.

Causes of the Disease

In the absence of specific symptoms, doctors tend to look at the various risk factors and the modified risk factors to understand the root cause of the disease. The various risk factors leading to the disease are age, gender, rheumatoid arthritis, family history, prolonged treatment with steroids and related drugs, ethnicity and previous history of fractures. Other factors contributing to the cause of the disease are smoking, alcohol, Vitamin D deficiency, lack of exercise, improper diet and related lifestyle issues.

Treatment of Osteoporosis

As has already been said, osteoporosis is a degenerative disease and hence has no specific cure to eliminate the disease completely. However, treatment of osteoporosis is a combination of drug therapy and lifestyle changes. Doctors prescribe adequate intake of calcium and vitamin D together with a regimen of protein to reduce the risk of fractures and maintain bone density. Therapeutic treatment of osteoporosis and drug monitoring helps in reducing the reoccurrence of fractures.

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