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Nobody likes to feel pain, especially when it can prevent you from living a happy and healthy life. Being prevented from performing tasks that used to give you pleasure, such as practicing physical exercises, or even more everyday tasks, can be very complicated to deal with. Diseases like osteoporosis can cause you to have just that type of problem. But how do you know it is osteoporosis? What are the causes of this disease? And the symptoms? How to treat osteoporosis? If you want to know more about the disease, keep reading to get all the information you need.
What is Osteoporosis?
Osteoporosis is a disease that is characterized by deterioration of bone architecture and decreased bone mass in a person. In other words, it is the wear and tear of a person’s bones , which can have certain consequences, such as the high risk of fractures. Osteoporosis causes a person’s bones to have less absorption of calcium and minerals, which causes the fragility of the bones to gradually increase. For this reason, it is important that treatment is done quickly so that the person does not suffer even more from the effects of the disease.
A person with osteoporosis needs to take extra care with falls and strokes, as their bones are much more fragile and susceptible to breaking. It is a much more common disease in women , especially after menopause.
Causes of Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is a disease that becomes much more common with age, especially in women over 50, due to the menopause that we have already mentioned. However, this is not the only factor that causes the disease. There are also other things that can contribute to it appearing in both women and men. Some of the main causes of osteoporosis are:
- Alcoholism
- Smoking
- Autoimmune diseases like lupus or multiple sclerosis
- Calcium deficiency
- Vitamin D deficiency
- Sedentary lifestyle
- Bad eating habits
As you can see, there are several causes of osteoporosis and they are not always directly related to the risk group, although any of these topics combined with age definitely increases the chances of the disease developing.
What are the Symptoms of Osteoporosis?
One of the great dangers of osteoporosis is that it is a disease that rarely shows clear symptoms and that is usually only noticed after some kind of fracture. Still, it is possible to notice some things, such as:
- Greater bone sensitivity
- Bent posture
- Decreased stature over the years
- Pain in the bones
These symptoms tend to intensify over time and, exactly for this reason, a treatment should be done as soon as possible.
Types of Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is a disease that can manifest itself in several different ways and, therefore, it is separated by types. Some of the main ones are:
- Osteoporosis Senile
- Secondary Osteoporosis
- Pre-Menopause Osteoporosis
- Osteoporosis in Men
Let’s talk more deeply about each one so that you can better understand the differences and their ways of manifesting themselves in a person’s body.
Osteoporosis Senile
It occurs due to advancing age, especially after the age of 70 and can affect both men and women. It usually occurs due to the lack of production of Vitamin D by the body, which makes the bones more fragile.
Secondary Osteoporosis
It is a type of osteoporosis that occurs because of some other problem that the person has gone through, such as blood disorders or hormonal disorders, for example. Although it can reach younger people, it is much more common in older women.
Postmenopausal Osteoporosis
It is one of the most common types of osteoporosis, which occurs because of the decrease in estrogen, the main female hormone and, in turn, causes a decrease in the absorption of minerals and vitamins essential for bone health.
Osteoporosis in Men
Although it is not a specific type of osteoporosis, it is important to comment on how the disease manifests itself in men, since it is something much more common than imagined , even more so in men of advanced age. Although the loss of bone mass in males occurs noticeably later than in females, it also occurs. As it is a disease that does not usually show many symptoms, it is only after a fracture that a man has the correct diagnosis of the disease. Despite this, it is important to take all measures to prevent and do the treatment correctly and avoid more serious consequences.
Osteoporosis Treatment
It is very difficult to say that osteoporosis can be cured, since it is practically impossible. However, it is possible to do treatments to prevent the disease from getting worse or even that the possible injuries have serious consequences. All treatment is done, basically, based on drugs that will prevent bone loss and treat diseases that may be associated.
It is important to note that you should not self-medicate under any circumstances in cases of osteoporosis. Only a specialist doctor can indicate which treatment is best for you and prevent the disease from harming your life.
Consequences of Osteoporosis
In cases where the treatment is not done correctly, osteoporosis can have some serious consequences, such as injuries to important bones such as the spine, the hip and the femur, as these are some of the areas most affected by the disease. This can make it difficult for a person to walk and, in more severe cases, prevent them from walking again.
Despite being something you will have to get used to living with, osteoporosis can be treated and controlled, as you can see. The most important thing is to know how to identify the disease and carry out the treatment in the best possible way so that you can live a healthy and normal life as much as possible. This involves having a good diet, healthy habits and taking medications consciously and never on your own. Thus, living with osteoporosis will not be so difficult.
My name is Dr. Alexis Hart I am 38 years old, I am the mother of 3 beautiful children! Different ages, different phases 16 years, 12 years and 7 years. In love with motherhood since always, I found it difficult to make my dreams come true, and also some more after I was already a mother.
Since I imagined myself as a mother, in my thoughts everything seemed to be much easier and simpler than it really was, I expected to get pregnant as soon as I wished, but it wasn’t that simple. The first pregnancy was smooth, but my daughter’s birth was very troubled. Joana was born in 2002 with a weight of 2930kg and 45cm, from a very peaceful cesarean delivery but she had already been born with congenital pneumonia due to a broken bag not treated with antibiotics even before delivery.
