by Anne Tse

Created on: March 06, 2011   Last Updated: April 01, 2011

Imagine bones that are dotted with holes. They become brittle and fragile, and this occurs in osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is a disease that exhausts your bones, disrupting the structure of the bones, further reducing bone density and increasing the risk of fractures especially in the hip, spine and wrist.

The bone thinning disease starts to present mostly in the population over the age of 50 and the incidence of fracture especially in geriatrics can be very debilitating with persistent pain and thereby impairing  the quality of life.

Risk factors

Thinning of the bone is inevitable as it is part of the aging process. It is associated with both risk factors that are modifiable and non-modifiable. Family history, genetic factors and gender are some of the factors contributing to osteoporosis that cannot be changed. Caucasians and Asians are more susceptible to bone thinning as they have smaller body frame with low body mass index. Most women suffer from osteoporosis after menopause as the decline in estrogen level promotes bone loss.

Lifestyle and dietary factors that may increase the risk of osteoporosis are sedentary lifestyle with minimal exercise, smoking, excessive alcohol intake, low calcium intake and minimal sun exposure- these are the factors you may want to consider changing if you want to reduce the severity of bone thinning.

Bone examination

Routine bone testing is recommended for geriatrics, especially women over the age of 65. The bone examination measures the bone mineral density , which determines if one has osteopenia ( a less severe form of osteoporosis) , osteoporosis or normal bone health.

Lifestyle modification

 It is good to initiate the effort to prevent osteoporosis as early as possible. Lifestyle modification is always the first step toward promoting healthier bones. Regular exercises especially weight bearing aerobic and strengthening exercises can increase bone mass and prevent bone loss. Working out at least 3 times a week will reward you with stronger bones. Jogging at the park, taking the stairs instead of the elevator are just some of the exercises you could try.

Diet

Try to incorporate more food rich in calcium and vitamin D in your diet. Dark green vegetables like broccoli and kalian as well as dairy products are rich in calcium while eggs and fatty fish can supplement you with vitamin D which aids the absorption of calcium in your body.

 Supplements

If your calcium intake from diet is insufficient, calcium supplements

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>