Prevention and Treatment of Osteoporosis

osteoporosisOsteoporosis is one of the most common non-communicable diseases in the world. It means that bone density decreases, bones become fragile and the risk of bone damage increases. According to the Hong Kong Orthopaedic Association, among people aged 65 and above, there is a 5% chance that women have osteoporosis, while there is a 2% chance for men.

What is osteoporosis?

Osteoporosis is a metabolic bone disease. When the bone metabolism process is unbalanced, causing the loss rate to be greater than the regeneration rate, the bone mass and density will be lower than that of normal people, leading to osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is mainly caused by reduced bone formation and increased bone absorption, and can be divided into primary and secondary. If it is due to the decline in bone cell function caused by general aging, or the impact of calcium absorption after menopause, it is primary osteoporosis; if it is caused by long-term medication, bad living habits, or other diseases, it is secondary.

1. Postmenopausal osteoporosis: Menopause can affect the bone calcium concentration in the body.
2. Senile osteoporosis: The recovery ability of the elderly is weak, which stimulates osteoclasts while inhibiting osteoblasts, resulting in a decrease in bone mass.
3. Idiopathic osteoporosis: The cause is not yet clear, it may be related to abnormal bone metabolism regulation or abnormal calcium metabolism.
4. Secondary osteoporosis: mainly caused by diseases or drugs that affect bone metabolism.

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Causes of Osteoporosis

Elderly people over 50 years old
Female (females are more likely than males)
Ethnic factors (Asians and Caucasians are more likely to have a higher risk)
Family history of osteoporosis
disease factors
Smoking, excessive drinking, and drinking too much caffeinated beverages
Lack of physical activity and prolonged bed rest
Reduced sunlight, calcium deficiency, vitamin D deficiency, high sodium diet, etc.

Symptoms of osteoporosis

Bone loss is usually not felt, and there are no symptoms. The biggest danger of osteoporosis is that the general public is not aware of bone loss. If you experience lower back pain, cervical pain, back pain, or become shorter and have a noticeable stoop, these are early symptoms of osteoporosis.

Osteoporosis Falls

The most feared thing about osteoporosis is falls caused by bone loss, which most commonly occur in the hip joints, spine and wrists. Hip joint damage has a very high mortality rate for the elderly because they require bed rest or even artificial joint replacement. According to the figures from the CUHK Jockey Club Osteoporosis Prevention and Treatment Centre, approximately 10% to 20% of patients will die within one year after hip joint damage, and nearly 70% of patients will permanently lose the ability to take care of themselves.

Diagnosis of osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is mainly diagnosed through bone density tests and ultrasound measurements. Dual-photon absorptiometry (DEXA) is used to examine the bones in the center of the body to determine bone density. It is recommended that this item be included in health checks for people over 40 years old.

Treatments for osteoporosis

Lifestyle treatments:

Before using medication, you can make some lifestyle changes to relieve the symptoms of osteoporosis, such as proper exercise, a normal diet, and outdoor sunlight exposure.

Drug therapy:

Drug treatment should be combined with lifestyle adjustments. Currently, drugs such as calcium supplements, bisphosphonates, selective estrogen receptor modulators, and calcitonin are used to slow bone loss and prevent osteoporosis.