Osteoporosis

INTRODUCTION

Osteoporosis, or porous bone, is a disease characterized by low bone mass and structural deterioration of bone tissue, causing bone to become fragile and more likely to fracture. If this disease is not prevented or left untreated, osteoporosis can progress painlessly until a bone actually breaks. Typically the hip, spine, and wrist are the most susceptible to fracture. Any and all bones can be at risk, but the hip and spine are of special concern. Hip fractures are most common in the elderly should they encounter a fall, and almost always requires hospitalization and major surgery. It can impair a person's ability to walk unassisted and may cause prolonged or permanent disability or even death. Spinal or vertebral fractures also have serious consequences, including loss of height, severe back pain, and deformity. Osteoporosis is a major public health threat for 44 million Americans, especially People 50 years of age 55 percent and older. In the United States eight million women and two million are men are estimated to already have the disease. One out of every two women and one in four men over 50 will have an osteoporosis-related fracture in their lifetime. Osteoporosis remains a prevalent women's health issue as women represent 68% of those affected. This represents more than 1.5 million fractures annually. The following are numeral approximations of fracture locations per year.

 300,000 hip fractures

 250,000 wrist fractures

 700,000 vertebral fractures

 300,000 fractures at other sites

Risk factors & SYMPTOMs

More often than not osteoporosis does not cause any symptoms at first. It has been refered to as the “silent” disease. This means that often people don’t realized that they have osteoporosis until a bone actually breaks, usually in a fall or injury that would not seem severe enough to have caused a bone fracture. In some instances someone who has noticed a loss of height may in fact have...