What is Osteoporosis?
Osteoporosis is a disease of bone in
which bone mineral density (BMD) is
reduced.
Osteoporotic bones are more susceptible
to fracture. While treatments are
becoming available, prevention is still
the most important way to avoid
osteoporosis and reduce fracture. Due
to its hormonal component, more women,
particularly after menopause, suffer
from osteoporosis than men.
Osteoporosis can be thought of as the
similar to "sarcopenia", which is the
age-related loss of skeletal muscle.
The combination of sarcopenia and
osteporosis results in the significant
frailty often seen in the elderly
population.
Osteoporotic fractures are those that
occur under slight amount of stresses
that would not normally lead to
fractures in people who
aren’t affected.
Typical fractures occur in the
vertebral column, hip and wrist.
Collapse of a vertebra ("compression
fracture") can cause one or a
combination of the following: acute
onset of back pain; a hunched forward
or bent stature; loss of height;
limited mobility and possibly
disability.
Vertebral fractures can lead to severe
chronic pain of neurogenic origin,
which can be hard to control, as well
as deformity. Though rare, multiple
vertebral fractures can lead to such
severe hunch back that the resulting
pressure on internal organs can impair
one's ability to breathe.
Fractures of the long bones (like the
upper arm or thigh) acutely impair
mobility and may require surgery. Hip
fracture, in particular, usually
requires prompt surgery, as there are
serious risks associated with a hip
fracture, such as deep vein thrombosis
and a pulmonary embolism.
Patients with osteoporosis are at a
high risk for additional fractures (the
best predictor of fracture is a
previous fracture). Treatment for the
underlying osteoporosis can reduce the
risk of a subsequent fracture
considerably.
Although osteoporosis patients have an
increased mortality rate due to the
complications of fracture, most
patients die with the disease rather
than of it.