Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is a medical condition where both the density and the quality of the spinal bones degenerate and become extremely weak and brittle and thus more susceptible to fractures. Most of the time bone density is reduced by a number of factors like deficiency of calcium, which is necessary for the ongoing formation bones, and aging.

CAUSES OF OSTEOPOROSIS

Osteoporosis is not caused by one single factor; however there are various risk factors to be aware of. These general causes include advancing age, gender (mostly females are more susceptible to this problem), genetic cause (family history), physical dormancy, smoking, low dietary intake of calcium and vitamin D.
Apart from the above mentioned causes, use of medications like thyroid and epilepsy medications, can also increase your risk factor. Also, medical conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, Cushing’s syndrome as well as multiple myeloma may work as motivating factors for this problem.

OsteoporosisSymptoms

There are no glaringly obvious osteoporosis symptoms and most of the time a patient becomes aware of a problem only when a bone breaks. Fractures of spine, wrist, hip as well as upper arm are found commonly in a patient of osteoporosis. Patient suffering from osteoporosis also tends to lose height which happens due to compressed and weak spinal vertebrae and may also show signs of a “widow’s hump” as the patient develops an increasingly bent over posture.

Treatment

Osteoporosis treatment is usually decided while keeping in mind several factors like past and present medical history, present bone density scan, gender and age.

Most of the time doctors prefer conservative treatment options like exercises, dietary changes, medications as well physical therapy instead of invasive treatment techniques like back pain surgery. Osteoporosis surgery does not get rid of the condition but help in relieving the pain that the patients suffer from spinal compression fractures. Most of the time vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty are the surgical procedures that are preferred for this condition.