Osteoporosis

What is bone? • Bone is a living, growing tissue that turns over at a rate of about 10% a year. • It is made of mostly of: 1.collagen, a protein that gives the bone its soft framework. 2.Calcium phosphate, a mineral that add strength and hardens the framework. This combination of collagen and calcium makes bone strong and yet flexible enough to bear weight and to withstand stress. • More than 99% of the body's calcium is contained in the bones and teeth. The remaining 1% is found in the blood. What is bone? • Throughout your lifetime, old bone is constantly being removed and replaced by new bone . • Normally, during childhood and the teenage years, new bone is added faster than old bone is removed. • For most people, bone mass peaks by the late 20s. Definition • Is a disease in which bones became fragile and more likely to break. • Osteoporosis, is a disease characterized by low bone mass and structural deterioration of bone tissue. This means you may be more likely to get fractures in locations such as the hip, spine, and wrist. • It’s a disease that can be prevented and treated. Which picture have the brittle bones? What are the Risk Factors of Osteoporosis? Risk Factors You Can’t Control: • Genetic predisposition • Ethnicity: Asian and white Caucasian women are at the greatest risk for fractures. • Age: Classic osteoporosis is a disease of adulthood. • Gender: Osteoporosis mainly affects postmenopausal women • Body size: small, thin-boned individuals are at greater risk Risk Factors You Can Control: • Lack of regular exercise • Smoking cigarettes • Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa (Eating disorders): irrational fear of weight gain leading to eating disorder • Heavy alcohol consumption • Medications • Low calcium and vitamin D intake • Excess soda consumption: The link between osteoporosis and caffeinated sodas isn't clear, but caffeine may interfere with calcium absorption and its diuretic effect may increase mineral loss. Pregnancy & Breastfeeding and Bone Health • During pregnancy, the baby needs plenty of calcium to develop its skeleton. • This need is especially great during the last 3 months of the pregnancy. • Studies have shown that women often lose 3 to 5 percent of their bone mass during breastfeeding. This bone loss may be caused by the growing baby’s increased need for calcium, which is drawn from the mother’s bones. What are the Symptoms of Osteoporosis? Symptoms • The osteoporosis is the silent disease. Only through a bone mineral density (BMD) • The syndrome appear only when the complication appear. In patients who do have symptoms, bone pain is the most common complaint. • Fractures of brittle bone • Deformity of bone • Advanced arthritis of joints near affected bone • Compression on neighboring nerves from enlarged bones, leading to a loss of sensation or movement • Chronic pains in the back • A gradual decrease in the height How can we Prevent & Treat Osteoporosis? Prevention & Treatment • Start early in life to build strong bones (teen years). • Build strong bones with a nutritious diet, enough calcium, 1500 mg daily after menopause. • Vitamin D - deficiency in the elderly is common. • Stop smoking cigarettes and avoid heavy consumption of alcohol. • Educate yourself about medications known to increase risk. • Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) or estrogen replacement therapy (ERT) is given to women to slow bone loss from osteoporosis. But also led to increases in a woman's risk of breast cancer, stroke and heart disease. Prevention & Treatment: Begin a Regular Exercise Program • Like muscle, bone is living tissue that responds to exercise by becoming stronger. • Young women and men who exercise regularly generally have greater bone mass than those who do not. • The best exercise for bones is weight-bearing exercise. This is exercise that forces you to work against gravity, such as walking, jogging, stair climbing, tennis, and lifting weights. • Weightlessness and immobility can result in bone loss. Space travel has provided significant research data on the subject of weightlessness and bone loss. Astronauts exposed to the microgravity of space experience significant bone loss.