The Basics of Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is a disease that weakens the bones and causes them to become brittle. Normally, the body breaks down old bone and replaces it with new bone. However, as people age, more bone is broken down than is replaced.

The inside of a bone normally looks like a tightly woven honeycomb, but when a person has osteoporosis, the spaces inside this honeycomb become larger. That means this inside of the bone has more air than bone.

There are usually no symptoms of osteoporosis. It’s a “silent” disease. Most people don’t know they have it until they break a bone.

There are many risk factors that increase a woman’s chances of developing osteoporosis. Some she can control; others she can’t.

Factors women can’t control:

Being female.
Normal aging.
Menopause.
Having a small, thin body.
A family history of osteoporosis.
Long-term use of certain medicines.
Some cancer treatments.

Factors women can control:

Smoking.
Drinking too much alcohol. (Experts recommend no more than 1 drink a day for women.)
A diet low in dairy products or other sources of calcium and vitamin D.
Not getting enough exercise.

Screening for Osteoporosis

A screening called dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (or dexa for short) can predict the risk of having low bone density or breaking a bone. All women over the age of 65 should have this screening. Depending on the results, some women may need to have this test done every two years.

HOW YOU CAN HELP:

Osteoporosis can usually be prevented. Aside from encouraging healthy lifestyle choices, here are a few more things you can do:
When the body doesn’t get enough calcium from food, it will break down bone to replenish it. Help your clients get calcium by serving foods like low-fat dairy products, leafy green vegetables and sardines with bones.
Vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium. The body will make vitamin D after only 10 minutes of exposure to sunlight each day.
Thirty minutes a day of weight bearing and strength training exercises can help prevent osteoporosis.
Help your client avoid alcohol, cigarettes and cola drinks. These all rob the body of bone.