Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is a progressive bone loss disease associated with an increased risk of fractures. The disease often develops undetected for many years without any symptoms or discomfort until a fracture occurs. Osteoporosis often causes height loss and slouching.

What are the risk factors in osteoporosis?

Aging: everyone loses bone with age After age 35, the body creates less new bone to replace old bone loss: In general, the older you are, the lower your total bone mass and the higher your risk of osteoporosis.

Genetics: Genetic factors are significantly responsible for maximum bone mass.

Nutrition and Lifestyle: Low-calcium diet, low body weight and sedentary lifestyle, smoking and excessive alcohol use increase the risk of osteoporosis.

Drug Use: High doses and continuous use of some drugs are among the risk factors.

How is osteoporosis treated?

Because it is very difficult to replace the lost bone, it is easier to identify risk factors and prevent osteoporosis than to treat an advanced osteoporosis.

•     Taking measures to reduce the risk of falling with lifestyle changes,
•     By applying the recommended exercise programs,
•     By arranging your diet as recommended,
•     It is aimed to prevent and treat osteoporosis by using your medications regularly.

Your treatment program will be created by your doctor in the most appropriate way for you.

What can be done to prevent osteoporosis or prevent it from getting worse?

Calcium: During the growing years, your body needs calcium to build strong bones and a calcium reserve. Insufficient calcium intake during growth can lead to the development of osteoporosis later in life.

Calcium continues to be an essential nutrient after growth because the body loses calcium every day. Therefore, calcium intake is important at all stages of life. The amount of calcium you need varies with your age and other factors. The National Academy of Sciences provides the following recommendations for daily calcium intake:

Children aged 9-18 years 1300mg daily for women and men aged 19-50 years 1000mg daily for women and men after 50 years 1200mg daily for pregnant and lactating women 1000mg daily

Although calcium intake cannot prevent bone loss after menopause, it continues to play an important role in maintaining bone quality. Increasing calcium and vitamin D intake in cases such as being menopausal or having osteoporosis can reduce the risk of fractures. Dairy products such as yogurt and cheese are important sources of calcium. 8 glasses of milk contain 300 mg of calcium. Other calcium-rich foods include sardines with bones and green leafy vegetables such as broccoli and kale.

 Vitamin D: Vitamin D helps the absorption of calcium. The recommended daily amount of Vitamin D is 5-15 mcg.

Dairy products are important nutrients for vitamin D.

If these nutrients are not sufficiently included in the diet, vitamin supplements can be taken. Consult your doctor again before taking vitamin supplements.

Regular exercise: Muscles need exercise to keep bones strong. Exercise in all age groups helps to minimize bone loss while providing many benefits. An effective exercise program is needed for the prevention and management of osteoporosis. Exercises of the type in which bones carry body weight are called weight bearing exercises; These are walking, tennis, dancing, climbing stairs and low-level aerobic exercises.

Falls account for 50 percent of fractures, so even with low bone density, fractures can be prevented if falling is prevented. That's why balance training is an important part of the exercise program.

Consult your doctor/physiotherapist for the exercise program that is right for you.

How is osteoporosis diagnosed?

The diagnosis of osteoporosis is usually made by your doctor using a combination of a complete medical history, physical examination, X-ray imaging, bone densitometry, and specialized laboratory testing.