Nutritions Daily – Wellness Living

The osteoporotic skeleton of the human body may be likened to a fragile vase in the sense that the vase will not break unless it is tipped over. Similarly the skeleton will not break unless subjected to stresses.

A major problem is that the diagnosis of osteoporosis is most frequently made only after a fracture. In other words, the condition has usually been present for many years before it is diagnosed.This is because bone loss is very slow and free of symptoms. People complaining of aches and pain in the body have osteoarthritis, which is a degenerative disease of the joints, rather than osteoporosis, which is usually a “silent” disease before a fracture.

What is the treatment of osteoporosis ?
Before osteoporosis is treated, it must be diagnosed by a physician using a combination of physical examination, the patient’s complete medical history, skeletal x-rays, and occasionally a bone mineral density scan (dexa) or ultrasound scan. If the bone mass is found to be low, further tests may be conducted to rule out other diseases associated with bone loss, e.g. osteomalacia (vitamin D deficiency) and hyperparathyroidism (overactivity of the parathyroid glands).

The bone density scan is a safe, painless x-ray technique that compares the individual’s bone density to a norm of the same age, gender and race. Individuals with strong risk factors in osteoporosis require a bone mineral density measurement. Some of the risk factors like Got Menopause early or having menopause symptoms, prolonged secondary amenorrhoea, corticosteroid use, maternal history of hip fracture, prolonged immobilisation, endocrine disorders like hyperparathyroidism and hyperthyroidism, organ transplants and malabsorption syndrome. Patients with a history of spinal fractures or vertebral deformity with radiological evidence of osteoporosis should also be scanned. The bone density scan is also useful to monitor the effects of treatment for osteoporosis as it shows any increase or decrease in bone mass after therapy.

A less expensive and portable method of assessing bone mineral density is through an ultrasound of the heel.

In 1998 the Osteoporosis Society of Singapore suggested the following treatment guidelines:
1. If the bone mineral density is normal or one standard deviation (SD) below normal the scan may not be repeated within 2-5 years. Patients are advised on exercise and calcium intake.
2. If the bone mineral density is -1 to -2.5 SD, the doctor should consider hormone replacement therapy (in women) or other options like biphosphonate, calcitonin or raloxifene.Treatment options have to be discussed with the doctor in charge.