The Details of Osteoporosis

Bone health

 

There are some things with your health that you should simply know. If you are a woman over the age of 50, you should know about osteoporosis. This bone disease occurs when the body loses too much bone, makes too little bone, or both. As a result, bones become weak and may break from a fall or, in serious cases, from something as innocent as a sneeze. We treat osteoporosis at Creative Image Laser Solutions.

What is osteoporosis?

Your bones are living, growing tissue and they change throughout your life. While your bones may seem solid, they’re actually a honeycomb with holes and spaces. The word osteoporosis actually means “porous bone.” When a person gets osteoporosis, the holes and spaces in the honeycomb of their bones become much larger than they were when the bones were healthy. This means they have lost density and mass. As they become less dense they become weaker and more likely to break.

Osteoporosis isn’t rare. Over 54 million Americans have it. Studies point to the fact that one in two women and one in four men over the age of 50 will break a down due to osteoporosis. Each year 1.5 million fractures are the result of osteoporosis.

What’s the big deal?

While breaking a bone is always something to take seriously, breaking a bone due to osteoporosis can lead to permanent problems, even death. Osteoporotic bone breaks are most likely in the hip, spine, or waist, but other bones can break, as well. It can lead to chronic pain and weight loss. If a person’s osteoporosis affects the vertebrae, it often leads to that person acquiring a stooped, hunched over posture.

Because it limits mobility, osteoporosis can lead to a person feeling isolated and depressed. Twenty percent of seniors who break a hip die within one year from either complications related to the broken bone itself or from the surgery to repair it. Osteoporosis is the reason many seniors are forced into nursing homes.

Testing bone density

At Creative Image Laser, we test patients for osteoporosis either through saliva, urine, or serum panel. These tests determine if there is a feedback mechanism that may be inhibiting the body’s ability to rebuild bone or whether too much bone is being absorbed.

HRT or ERT treatment

We feel the best treatment for osteoporosis is hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and estrogen replacement therapy (ERT), although not all Creative Laser patients can have these treatments. These treatments are effective because declining estrogen and progesterone levels do not just affect a woman’s reproductive capabilities, but the also cause bone density to decrease and the risk of fractures to increase. Estrogen is important for bone growth and strength. Through the taking of estrogen either as ERT or HRT, bone loss is slowed and bone density can even be regained.

If you’re a woman and 50 or older, let’s talk about osteoporosis. Call us at 325-641-1927.

Image courtesy of cooldesign at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Posted in: blog, Bone Health

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