Osteoporosis: Risk, Prevention and Treatment
When a person becomes old and aged, several types of health problems might start occurring in his or her body, that will not only hamper his or her overall physiological functioning but will also affect their health and well-being as well. Osteoporosis is one such disorder that can bother people’s overall health and well-being, mostly in their adulthood and in their old age. Osteoporosis is a type of condition that can affect people and make their bones and joints fragile. This is a serious disorder in old age of a person but is also found to occur among children and young adults. The condition of osteoporosis is preventable, only if the condition is diagnosed in time, that is, within the time within which the disorder is treatable. When you feel that you are having the signs and symptoms that are related to osteoporosis, then it is important for you to consult your health care expert as soon as possible, because osteoporosis might become severe in some cases, and might also affect bones and joints, that will not only cause pain and spasms but will also create a lot of difficulties in performing your regular activities as well. Osteoporosis is such a disorder, that it can make your bones becomes. This explains why osteoporosis has such a name. It is because the term is derived from a Latin term, that means ‘porous bones.’ This means that when a person develops conditions such as osteoporosis, then the person will not only suffer from fragility and weakness of bones, but also a time will come when the person’s bones will become porous, that is, as a result of wearing out of calcium and other essential and nutritional components from the bones and bone joints, that creates the formation of small, minute gaps on the surface of the bones, and thus they are becoming porous day by day when the course of osteoporosis develops more. Apart from the weakness of the bones and bone joints, there can be other conditions that might be linked to the occurrence of osteoporosis, which are often known to be connected to the deficiency in the levels of calcium content in your body.
Bone health and maintenance of the well-being of bones and muscle joints is always necessary, particularly in your old age. It is mostly during this stage many people suffer from deficiency of calcium and/ or low content of calcium in the body. It is also common at this age, that the body cannot absorb enough amount of calcium from the food sources that you are having in your diet each day, and because of this, it is quite common that the bones and joints in your body will not get the required amount of calcium that is necessary for maintaining the longevity of bone joints and prevent them from becoming weak easily. So, if you are a person who has the signs and symptoms of osteoporosis, then this one is the most beneficial and important article for you. This is because, this article will help you to get a clear and detailed idea regarding what is all about osteoporosis, the ways that you can follow to prevent the occurrence of this type of disorder, some types of medications that should be taken to provide the risks of developing osteoporosis, and so on.
What Is All About Osteoporosis?
It is important to maintain the better health of the bone and muscle joints in your body, particularly when there is a condition of osteoporosis or related conditions of bones and muscle pain in your body. A bone joint mostly looks like a honeycomb structure, that consists of small pieces of bones that are placed one after the other in specific sizes and shapes, so that they all fit into the structure and form a perfect size of the bone and joint structure. So, when a patient suffers from osteoporosis, the size and gaps in this honeycomb structure become different and vary from the normal structure. Apart from that, in case of the occurrence of osteoporosis, the strength and the density of the bones can also become abnormal, which can lead to pain in the bone and muscle joints. In case of the occurrence of joint pain-related conditions such as osteoporosis, then the bones and muscle joints might not remain efficient enough to perform even some of the regular activities, and the person might start suffering from joint pain in the legs, back, neck, and many other regions where the pores on the surface of the bone joints have been created. This happens because, in diseases like osteoporosis, bones become much thinner and less strong than that before. In many people, it has been found that osteoporosis occurs among people who belong to the age group of older adults and aged people. It has been found that osteoporosis has been more commonly occurring among women compared to men because it has been found that the rate of calcium loss and deficiency of calcium components is more among aged people and women compared to others. Osteoporosis is a severe disease and can be far more fatal if not treated and diagnosed by your health care expert at once. This is a type of disease that might affect the bones and joints in the rib cages, hip joints, spine bones, wrists, and in many other areas, which might create difficulties in doing regular physical activities, such as running, walking, standing, and/ or sitting for too long, and so on.
How Would You Prevent The Risk Of Osteoporosis?
Now that you have already known what osteoporosis is all about and how severe it can become, then you should also know about the ways that must be followed to get rid of the pain related to osteoporosis and prevent the risk of occurrence of the disease in the near future or your old ages. Osteoporosis, when occurs in a person, particularly in old age, when the bones and muscle joints become far weaker than they used to be before the occurrence of the disease. In normal conditions, the human body removes the older bone parts and joints that have already become damaged, and because of it, they need to change the sizes and shapes of bones and joints. As a result of this continuous remodeling of the bones and joints, you might start losing your bones faster and easier, even more frequently if you have osteoporosis.
Tips to follow for preventing osteoporosis:
There are certain tips and preventive measures that you must follow if you wish to prevent the risk of the occurrence of osteoporosis. Some of those ways and methods can be listed here as follows:
1. Perform exercises daily:
Exercises are some of the healthiest practices that can save a person from the risk of developing fatal bone conditions that are related to osteoporosis. Doing exercises for at least 30 to 45 minutes each day, will not only help you to lower the risk of occurrence of osteoporosis in your body but will also help you to make your bones and joints stronger and healthier. It has been found in recent studies and experimental research that published in 2021, those who do regular exercises are less likely to suffer from bone-related disorders such as osteoporosis. Some of the exercises that you must consider doing can be listed here as follows:
High-impact exercises:
Among high-impact exercises, you might choose the following options for workout techniques:
- Hiking
- jogging
- aerobics classes
Low-impact exercises:
Out of low-impact exercises, do the following workouts:
- Walking fast for longer durations
- low impact aerobics
- using an elliptical machine
- using a step-stair machine
2. Have a healthy and balanced diet:
This is the most important tip you must follow as a mandate, not only to stay away from osteoporosis but also from any other type of disease. In a healthy and balanced diet, have food components that are rich in essential nutrients that are equally beneficial for your overall health and will also help you to stay away from the risk of osteoporosis. In a healthy and balanced diet, you must include lots of fresh fruits and vegetables that are rich in vitamins and minerals and have food sources that are rich in vitamin D and calcium, which are required for making your bones stronger.
3. Add lean protein to your diet:
If you are planning to add more protein to your diet, then lean meat and lean protein are the ideal options for you to stay away from the risk of developing osteoporosis. This is because, the higher the amount of protein you are getting, the stronger will be your bones and joints. Moreover, having lean meat and lean protein in your diet can help in developing better bone density. The types of lean protein that you must include in your diet can be listed below:
- poultry meat
- lean fish
- eggs
- nuts and seeds
- beef
- legumes
- low-fat milk and dairy products
- soy products
- several types of grains
Medications To Prevent Osteoporosis:
Take the following medicines, by taking prior advice from your doctor to treat osteoporosis:
- alendronate (Fosamax)\
- risedronate (Actonel)
- zoledronic acid (Reclast)
- ibandronate (Boniva)