What is Osteoporosis?

Osteoporosis means “porous bones”, it causes bones to become weak and brittle. It occurs when the body fails to form enough new bone, or when too much old bone is reabsorbed by the body, or both instances. This is a silent disease because you might not know you have it until you break a bone. It is estimated that 1 in 3 women and 1 in 12 men over the age of 50 worldwide have osteoporosis. Osteoporosis can impair a person’s ability to walk and may cause prolonged or permanent disability or even death. The diagnosis of osteoporosis is made on measuring the bone mineral density. The most popular method is dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). DEXA is considered the gold standard for the diagnosis of osteoporosis. This test is readily available and done for free in big centers through out the country. Bone mineral density testing should be performed on all postmenopausal women with fractures, all men aging 55 and over, all women under 65 with an additional risk factor for osteoporosis (besides menopause), and all women aging 65 and over. The objective of treatment of osteoporosis is to increase the bone mass. There are a number of strategies to increase bone mass like maximizing calcium and Vitamin D intake, taking anti-resorptive drugs, minimizing the using of drugs that inhibit normal bone growth and formation, encouraging weight-bearing activities, ensuring normal sex steroid exposure and stop smoking.