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| Osteoporosis |
Osteoporosis is a disease of the bone, it occurs when one loses too much bone due to wear and tear and as a result of aging. Osteoporosis comes from two Greek words "Osteo" and "poros" In effect Osteo means bone whereas poros means hole passage, when put together osteoporosis means a disease that will cause wearing and tearing of the bone as well as weakening the bone of its victim thus making it thin and can break easily.
According to the National Institute of Health, osteoporosis is a public heath threat for an estimated number of people. According to researchers an estimated 44 million of people are suffering from this ailment in the United State of America and this represent about 55% of people among the age bracket of 60.
Osteoporosis is a reduction in the quantity of bone or atrophy of skeletal tissue, an age related disorder characterized by decreased bone mass and loss of normal skeletal micro-architecture, leading to increased susceptibility to fracture so says Medilexicon Medical Dictionary.
Living longer in a more sedentary pattern has been the hyper point of incident and will continue to cause a rise in osteoporosis as this development has not been considered by policy markers and funding agencies in their development plan. If osteoporosis is not check nor try to be prevented or left unattended to, it can progress without causing any pain untill a bone breaks or fracture, most likely is the hip, spine or wrist bone.
Generally, fracture of the hip, spine or wrist may require a surgery to be carried out, it always lead to serious walking disability and can incidentally lead to death if not treated. Sometimes, this fracture can equally lead to loss of height, severe back pain and deformity.
Symptoms
Regular Exercise
Osteoporosis is a very slow but dangerous ailment, it develops over a period of years, with this it may creep up on the patient without any obvious symptoms, but then it can take some period of months and even years unnoticed. Some of the early signs may includes the followings;
* Joint pains
* Difficulty standing
* Difficulty sitting up straight.
The stooping position often seen among the elderly is a possible sign of osteoporosis. As the bone mass and density of the affected person continues to downplay, it becomes eminent that there could be a possible fracture of the hip, wrist or bone in the spine. at this time even a cough or sneeze can trigger a fracture and or cause a partial collapse of one of the spinal bone.
It will be noted that elderly people suffer greatly in this turmoil because the bone can not repair properly and quickly as of a youngster. Bones that are difficult to repair in time can trigger arthritis and eventually leaving the patient disabled, a large number of the elderly who suffer from this injury finds it difficult to be left alone and can no longer live independently on their own.
Causes and Diagnoses.
Smoke Kills
Although osteoporosis is not painful in itself, the condition causes bone to break more easily and broken bones are very painful, the most common cause of chronic pain linked to osteoporosis is a spinal fracture. Some of the causes of osteoporosis is as follows;
* Smoking
* Excessive drinking (Alcohol)
* Drop in estrogen level
* People with eating disorder
* People who have suffered from cancer are vulnerable
* People with low calcium consumption
* Consumption of too much caffeine
* Lack of regular exercise
* People who have suffered from depression are also vulnerable
DIAGNOSIS
In diagnosing this ailment, according to experts in this field, the following techniques should be adhered to;
* Dexa Scan is recommended, because it measures bone density and compares them to a normal range, the patient will then be given a 'T' score which will described the person's bone density compared to the average.
* Dental X ray is equally recommended for it diagnosis, health practitioners and experts in the field of osteoporosis have discovered new ways of using dental X ray in osteoporosis.
* Ultra sound scan is also recommended. This scan can provide a Doctor with reliable indication of bone density.
* CT or computerized tomography can also be of assistant in diagnosing osteoporosis. It do provide doctors with good and reliable indication of osteoporosis.
* Measuring and or examination of calcium intake in men is very important and must be carried out in order to ascertain the individual's level of calcium consumption as it is another way of diagnosing osteoporosis especially in men.
Treatment
Cooperation in Treatment
Some of the major treatment to osteoporosis according to experts is as follows.
* HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy) This treatment goes specifically for women going through the menopause, it help prevent bone density loss, thus reducing the risk of fractures during treatment.
* Testosterone treatment: When a man is suffering from osteoporosis because of low testosterone production this treatment may be recommended.
* Bisphosphonate treatment: This help bone density loss and are non hormonal drugs. The breakdown rate of bone by osteoclast is slowed down while the production of new bone is in a high speed.
* Calcitonin: This inhibits the cells that break down bone. Calcitonin is a hormone made by the thyroid glands.
* Calcium and Vitamin D supplement: This may help older patient lower their risk of hip fractures. Sunlight is the best source of vitamin D.
* Serms (selective estrogen receptor modulators) This drugs help prevent bone density loss.they mimic the beneficial effect of estrogen on bone density in post menopause women.
* Stem Cell Therapy: Scientists report that stem cells could halt osteoporosis, promote bone growth and new pathways that controls bone remodelling.
Prevention
Healthy living
Some of the beneficial ways of preventing osteporosis is as follows;
* People with smoking habit should try as much habit as possible to cut down their smoking habit.
* Alcoholic should be reduced to a large extent as it is one of the major cause of this impairment.
* People with eating disorder should try to correct this anomallies as it is detrimental to health and should try to talk with experts in this field for more advise on the way forward.
* Regular exercise should be the order of the day to keep fit in all endeavors.
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