Showing posts with label osteoporosis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label osteoporosis. Show all posts

Porous bones - Osteoporosis definition - What is osteoporosis?

Feb 2014  › › › What is osteoporosis - osteoporosis definition - porous bones
What is osteoporosis?
Osteoporosis is a disease of the bones. The word osteoporosis literally means 'porous bones' and is derived from the Greek words 'ostoun' meaning bone and 'poros' meaning pore.
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It is an age-related disorder associated with progressive loss of bone mass and density. There is gradual decrease in the mineral density, deterioration of the structure into porous state and altering of the protein components in the skeletal system.

The osteoporosis disease is classified into primary type 1, primary type 2, and secondary type. Postmenopausal occurrences in women are referred as primary type 1. Primary type 2 occurs in men and women after 75 years of age. The secondary type can arise at any age and in any gender. Several predisposing factors can give rise to porous skeletal system. The consequence of all these forms is the increased risk of porous fractures which may be debilitating.

The bone density peaks by the age of 30 years and then there is a gradual loss throughout our lives. High bone density at the age of thirty years means less likelihood of developing the porous disease. Hence the density has to be built right from the childhood by taking balanced diet rich in calcium, phosphorus and vitamin D. Exercises, especially weight-bearing exercises will help in increasing the density.

Malnutrition, estrogen deficiency in women, decrease in testosterone levels in men, consumption of alcohol, genetic predisposition, tobacco smoking and sedentary lifestyle are some of the predisposing factors that can cause osteoporosis disease. The signs and symptoms of osteoporosis disease may not be very apparent in many patients. There may dull chronic pain in the lower back while the bone is becoming porous. The diagnosis of osteoporosis is by x-rays and bone density tests.
Elderly woman with osteoporosis
elderly women affected by osteoporosis
Osteoporosis treatment and management is by changing the lifestyle. The risk of porous fractures due to osteoporosis disease can be reversed and reduced by taking diet rich in calcium and vitamin D, exercising regularly and taking precautions to prevent falls.

Web definitions

1.The wordnetweb.princeton.edu defines as "abnormal loss of bony tissue resulting in fragile porous bones attributable to a lack of calcium; most common in postmenopausal women."

2.The merriam-webster.com defines as "medical : a condition in which the bones become weak and break easily."

3. The medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com defines as "The word osteoporosis literally means "porous bones." It occurs when bones lose an excessive amount of their protein and mineral content, particularly calcium. Over time, bone mass, and therefore bone strength, is decreased. As a result, they become fragile and break easily. Even a sneeze or a sudden movement may be enough to break a bone in someone with severe osteoporosis."


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Image source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:OsteoCutout.png
Image author: James Heilman, MD | License: CC BY-SA 3.0
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What is osteoporosis disease - definition - porous bones.
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The role of calcium in osteoporotic fractures

Osteoporotic fractures are debilitating and life-threatening.
Fracture is a situation wherein bone is broken or cracked.
This could be due to fall or excessive stress on the concerned bone.
However in a person with osteoporosis, bone breaks or cracks in a situation wherein a normal person will not suffer a fracture.
Because of low density, bone fractures occur in a person with osteoporosis and the risk rate is very high.
Osteoporotic fractures are also called fragility fractures and mostly occur in wrist, hip, rib and vertebral column.
Vertebral cracks cause severe back pain and multiple vertebral breaks can result in stooped posture, chronic back pain, height loss and reduced mobility.
Hip fracture requires immediate surgery as it is usually associated with deep vein thrombosis and can result in pulmonary embolism.
Osteoporosis and osteoporotic cracks can be prevented and remedied with life style changes, proper consumption of calcium and other essential minerals and medication.
In old age, people become prone to falls because of their postural instability, vision problems, weakness and poor reaction and response time.
By undertaking proper exercises to tone up their muscles and their balance, falls can be prevented considerably.
 Use of calcium and vitamin D supplements, bisphosphonates, teriparatide and strontium ranelate can prevent and cure osteoporosis to great extend.
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Postmenopausal osteoporosis

The postmenopausal osteoporosis has to be tackled properly in the elderly women fulfilling their requirements for their mental and physical health care.
Menopause means cessation of mensuration and related conditions.
In a normal woman with old age ova in her ovaries get exhausted leading hormonal changes.
In turn, over a period her menstrual cycle become erratic and finally stops.
These menopausal changes initially bring about an increase in the level of hormones like luteinizing hormone(LH) and follicle stimulating hormone(LSH) leading to decrease in the production of estrogen.
Decrease of estrogen leads to osteoporosis and other physiological and mental disorders.
As we have discussed in our earlier post these hormonal factors lead to bone resorption causing osteoporosis.
The lack of estrogen increases the bone resorption and retards the deposition of bone.
This happens mostly in the weight bearing skeletal bones.
Though the supplements of estrogen seem to work, many side effects negate their usefulness.
Calcium,minerals and vitamin D supplements help in gaining density of bone to some extent.
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Osteoporosis is the result of calcium deficiency

In health care,proper nutrition for the health of our bones and our skeletal system is vital.
Bone is a dynamic living tissue made up of different types of cells.
Bonetissue forming cells are called osteoblasts.
Bone reabsorbing cells are called osteoclasts.
Both the forming and reabsorbing functions go on in healthy person with tilt towards either of these functions depending upon the age and gender of the person.
When the forming activity is impaired especially in children malformations occur and this can lead to a debilitating disease called rickets.
This can be due to many reasons, the important reason being insufficient intake of calcium or vitamin D or both.
Lack of balance in the intake of essential minerals can also lead to osteoporosis.
When the reabsorbing is fast and the growth activity is reduced osteoporosis occurs.
Reduction in bone mineral density occurs in osteoporosis leading to the risk of fracture.
Osteoporosis occurs in women especially after menopause due to hormone imbalance and in both the sexes due to intake of certain steroids, poor intake of the mineral and vitamin D in the childhood.
Osteoporosis can be corrected to some extent by supplement of the mineral and vitamin D.
Visit my next post to know more about calcium absorption and postmenopausal osteoporosis.
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