A little information on Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is a quite common medical condition. Like cold, cough, headache, raised blood pressure we won’t see osteoporosis in us or our relatives. Rather, in most instances, it will reveal itself with the only complication, and that is a bone fracture. If we search the cause of bone fracture in elderly patients and post-menopausal lady, we will see that osteoporosis is the main factor! So what is osteoporosis?

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Literally, osteoporosis means porous bone. When the density of a bone is reduced from its normal mass per unit volume we call the condition osteoporosis. It can be defined differently as the increased fragility of bones. That means when a bone reduces mass per unit volume it becomes more fragile and the chance of fracture increases many folds. Calcium is the main determinant of bone mass density. So that osteoporosis has a direct relationship with body and bone calcium levels. The diseases or conditions which alter the normal calcium levels, invite osteoporosis.

Normally, it is a disease of post-menopausal ladies and elderly men (some disease condition may bring it earlier). One of female sex hormone, Estrogen, has a major role in maintaining normal calcium levels in bones. When a female reaches menopause and the support of estrogen stops, the body starts losing calcium at a much faster rate. Within next 5-10 years, osteoporosis develops and weight-bearing bones become most affected. After 65 years of age, the rate of fracture increase 3-5 times.

Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) for post-menopausal ladies has prevented estrogen deficiency and thus osteoporosis. But the development of breast cancer associated with HRT has brought negative impact on it.

Osteoporosis is common but silent, measurable its extent, preventable but potentially lethal. A patient with osteoporosis, even with a minor trauma, fracture might happen. Osteoporosis usually present with a fracture and it is the first manifestation of underlying osteoporosis. The most affected (fracture) bones are the lower end of the forearm (named Colles fracture), the neck of the femur (bones of thigh) and vertebra (backbone). Vertebral collapse (height shrinkage) is the hallmark of osteoporosis.

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