Osteoporosis - disease of old age : What experts Know and you don’t?

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When it comes to Osteoporosis, 93.6% people only know taboos and misconceptions - Google, not what they should know….FACT….!
Don’t worry. Whether you are in 93.6% or not, by the end of this article, You will be out of that bracket...
Today, we will learn about it from scratch till the finish line..
So, buckle up …..

What is Osteoporosis?

The word is derived from Latin language and means Porous Bones. It is a medical condition that will make the bones brittle and weak.
There are honeycomb-like small hollow spaces in the bone.Osteoporosis will increase them in size, making the bone thin. Also, the outside of the bone will become weak. 
So, the bone density - explained later in the Article decreases. 

Bones will become so weak that it can break without major injury - Sneezing, Jumping, Coughing. Main bones that get affected are vertebra, Wrist and hip bones.




Why does this happen? 
To understand it, let’s learn about the basics of Bone …

Few words about Bone: - 

----> Bone is a very dynamic hard tissue - absorption and deposition of it, also called Remodeling is constantly going on in the body. 
----> Bone absorption is carried out by the cells called Osteoclast and deposition is the function of Osteoblast. 
----> In normal bone, both cells work equally ;or if the age is young, osteoblastic activity is more. 
----> But in Osteoporosis, osteoclast will be hyperactive and will resorb the bone more than what osteoblast can deposit. 

Cause of Osteoporosis?

  • Hormonal factor: - Lower sex hormones- Estrogen in women and Testosterone in male are responsible for bone deposition. 
Evidence: Women taking estrogen blocking drugs for Breast cancer and Men taking Testosterone blocking drugs for Prostate cancer are found to be affected by Osteoporosis.                                                                                                                           
  • Overactive Thyroid and parathyroid can also cause Osteoporosis.
  • Sever restriction in eating, less calcium in diet and Stomach removal surgery will result in less Ca availability in the body and Osteoporosis. 
  • Sedentary lifestyle, Steroid usage, Tobacco and alcohol over consumption will result in osteoporosis. 

Major Ca regulators in the body: - 

----> Parathormone - the hormone secreted from Parathyroid gland is the main Ca regulator.

Parathormone gets released in response to lower Blood Ca and it will act to raise the Ca in Blood by taking the calcium out from bone with the help of Osteoclast.
----> Calcitonin - the Thyroid hormone will signal the Osteoclast to slow down their function; which will decrease the level of Ca in the Blood.
----> Vitamin D will help the body effectively absorb the Calcium.  


Risk factors for osteoporosis: - 

  • Age: -  Our body achieves peak bone mass at the age of 20 and will start losing it after 30. So, if you are aged person, you are at risk of developing Osteoporosis ...(Sorry..! I can’t help, even if I’m Doctor)
  • Being Asian Or Caucacian
  • Females
  • Poor nutrition
  • Low body weight
  • Smoking 
  • Family history of Osteoporosis.

                                                


Types of Osteoporosis: - 

----> Menopausal osteoporosis  - Estrogen, the bone protecting hormone drops when a woman reaches Menopause. That will lead to Bone loss…

----> Senile osteoporosis  - Another name for age related osteoporosis. In this also, women are at higher risk than men because they have less bone mass in the body even at an early age. 

Bone Density: - 

  • Measurement of the amount of calcium and other minerals in a segment of a bone is measured in bone density. Higher the mineral content, higher the density. 
  • Method used to measure bone density is called Dual-energy Xray absorptiometry (DEXA) scan. 
  • The reading is obtained in T score.  -1 or above is called normal bone and the score below -2.5 is osteoporosis. 

Prevention of osteoporosis: - 

  • Quit Smoking
  • Perform weight bearing exercises
  • Get a recommended amount of Vit D and Calcium.




Exercise for osteoporosis: - 

Weight-bearing exercises are performed with either your feet or your arms fixed to the ground or another surface.

Examples include:
               

  • climbing stairs
  • resistance training, such as:leg presses, squats, pushups .
  • weight training, such as working with: resistance bands, dumbbells ,resistance exercise machines


These exercises help because they cause your muscles to push and pull against your bones. This action tells your body to form new bone tissue, which strengthens your bones.

Treatment of Osteoporosis: - 


The main group of drugs used to treat Osteoporosis is called Bisphosphonates. They work by inhibiting osteoclastic resorption. Few names of those drugs are- 
  • Alendronate
  • Ibandronate
  • Zoledronate
Also, hormone therapy - medications of estrogen in Women and testosterone in Man is used to reverse or decrease the severity of Osteoporosis. 
So, it’s all about Osteoporosis…
Even if you have any questions, feel free to ask me in the comments below…