Osteoporosis Is A Disease That Decreases Bone Mass And Strength And Causes Bones

Osteoporosis is a bone disease that occurs when the body loses too much bone, makes too little bone, or both. As a result, bones become weak and may break from a fall or, in serious cases, from sneezing or minor bumps (nof.org). This skeletal disease is characterized by the increase in the fragility of bones as a result of reduced bone mass density and the deformation of the structure of bone tissue (Angin,Erden,Can, 849). Many patients with osteoporosis are instructed by their doctor to exercise; as this will improve their rehabilitation of this disease and lessen the pain associated with it.

Osteoporosis is a progressive bone disease that is characterized by structural deterioration of bone tissue and reduced bone mineral density(BMD). Consequences include increased pain, increased risk of fracture, loss of mobility, and death (Osteoporosis Canada 2014).

There are different laboratory tests that can be ran by doctors that helps in diagnosing osteoporosis. These tests are run with samples of blood and urine from the patient. Some of the tests are blood calcium levels, 24-hour urine calcium measurement, thyroid function tests, parathyroid hormone levels, testosterone levels in men, 25-hydroxyvitamin D test to determine whether the body had enough vitamin D, and biochemical marker tests, such as NTX and CTX (NOF, 2010).

There are a plethora of health issues that contribute to bone loss, such as nutrition (low calcium consumption) and rarely engaging in exercise, people who have an unhealthy lifestyle such as smoking or extreme alcohol usage are also at risk. “Bone loss in adolescence and early adulthood can be a result of a failure to attain peak bone mineral density, and accelerated bone loss may be particularly noted around menopause and in later years” (Lin, 2014, para. 1). Though the exact cause is unknown, additional sources may include latent health disorders such as thyroid problems.

Osteoporosis, meaning porous bone from the Greek language, is bone disease that gradually and steadily wears down bone tissue and its living cells. This wearing down will eventually cause the cells of bone tissue to degrade and die, leaving their “scaffolding” to be the only things only bone together. Without living cells to take up a home in this scaffolding, minor injuries such as falls, bumping into objects, and pressure that would normally be completely and would not pose any threat to bone tissue suddenly becomes a real hazard that can easily pose a threat to one’s well-being. Osteoporosis affects a person skeletal system.

Osteoporosis is a disorder of bones that affects bones making them low in bone mass fragile and will lead to bone fracture. Bone fracture will easily occur as this disease cause the matrix inside the bone become weak and brittle.Bones can become so brittle due to activities such as coughing can cause fractures.According to Macgill (2015) the origin of the word osteoporosis explain the condition of ‘osteo’ is for bone and ‘porosis’ means porous that resulting in weakness. At this condition, the bone tissue is mineralized normally, but the production is not enough to preserve the normal skeletal architecture. 80% of women and 20% men of 28 million American are affected with the osteoporosis. Approximately, women with the age of 50 will develop osteoporosis. Thin bones are the cause of 1.5 million fractures a year. As in Malaysia, the statistic shows that osteoporosis related to fractured is the common health problem especially in elderly..

As generally stated in the introduction, osteoporosis is a skeletal disorder that involves the strength and integrity of one’s bones. The WHO defines osteoporosis as, “a systemic skeletal disorder characterized by low-bone mass, deterioration of bone tissue, increased bone fragility, and its susceptibly to recurrent fractures.” 2 The most important factor to take into account when addressing osteoporosis is the mass of bone, also referred to as, bone mineral density (BMD). As bone mass begins to decline, typically in the older population, specifically postmenopausal women, individuals are at an increased risk for fractures.3 As a result of this serious condition, many people are affected by morbidity, mortality, and economic difficulty.1

Osteoporosis, also known as porous bone, is a disease characterized by low bone mass and structural deterioration of bone tissue which leads to bone fragility and an increased risks of the hip, spine, and wrist. Both men and women are affected by this (although it affects women more) but it can be prevented and treated. In the United States, more than 40 million people either already have osteoporosis or at a high risk because of low bone mass.

Osteoporosis is a disease in which bone tissue is normally mineralized but the mass of bone is decreased and structural integrity of trabecular bone is impaired. Cortical bone becomes more porous and thinner, making bone weaker and prone to fractures. The World Health Organization (WHO)(1994) has defines postmenopausal osteoporosis abased on the bone density. Bone density is based on the number of standard deviations away from the mean bone mineral density of a young adult reference population, a T-score. Normal bone mass density is 0 to -.99 standard deviations, low bone density (osteopenia) is -1.0 to -2.49 standard deviations, osteoporosis is labeled as less than or equal to 2.5 standard deviations, and severe osteoporosis is less than or equal to 2.5 standard deviations and included a bone fracture.

Osteoporosis is often called “the silent disease” as bone loss occurs without any symptoms, many people might not have a clue that they have osteoporosis until they face a fracture from a minor trauma or fall, or a vertebra collapses. Physical signs include back ache, loss of height over period, curved posture, and ruptures of vertebrae, wrists, or hips. Osteoporosis can be spotted by a bone mineral density test or even a regular x ray. Without preventive treatment, women can lose up to 20% of their bone mass in the first five to seven years following menopause, making them more vulnerable to osteoporosis.

The world is rapidly growing, with billions of people present on this planet. Aging in human life is one of the inevitable things. As we grow older there are physical, psychological and social changes that accompany it. There are various diseases that affect these changes; they are osteoporosis, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, type 2 diabetes, alzheimer’s disease and hypertension. This paper is going to focus on osteoporosis a disease that can initially weaken the human body without any indications. Osteoporosis according to WHO is a skeletal disease that is characterized by low bone mass and bone tissue deterioration, which results in bone fragility and susceptibility to fracture (Walker, 2010). Although this disease was thought to have

Diagnostic assessment for osteoporosis includes patient’s history, laboratory tests, and measurements of BMD (Akyol, Alayli, Diren, Cengiz, & Canturk, 2008). Imaging techniques utilized in diagnosing osteoporosis are X-ray, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging, and ultrasonography. The two main goals of diagnostic imaging of osteoporosis are identifying the presence of osteoporosis, and quantifying the bone mass using semi-quantitative or quantitative methods (Guglielmi et al., 2011).

Early in osteoporosis, bone loss occurs without symptoms. That why the disease was described in the literature as a "silent thief". When bones are weak enough, symptoms and signs develop and include:

Osteoporosis is a medical condition that causes the bones to become delicate and breakable due to a loss of tissue, usually caused by hormonal changes and even a deficiency of calcium, which includes vitamin D. If upon a minor fall, or lifting an object the wrong way you may experience a broken bone, that could be a sign of osteoporosis. Although it is true that while people age, they lose bone density, it is not true that everyone will for sure get Osteoporosis. There is no known cure yet for Osteoporosis, however, there are several treatment plans available. The most important part of dealing with Osteoporosis is knowing proper prevention, providing your body with the right nutrients to maintain healthy bones, and knowing the treatments accessible to you if you happen to acquire the disease.

Shiel (2017) states that osteoporosis usually does not show any signs or symptoms in the early stages of bone loss and may be without symptoms for decades. Osteoporosis doesn’t show symptoms until bone fractures and fractures may not be recognized for years when the bone disease does not cause any symptoms. (Shiel, 2017, paragraph 1). In some cases, people are unaware of having osteoporosis until they experienced suffering from a painful fracture. (Shiel, 2017, paragraph 1). Mayo clinic states “the signs and symptoms of osteoporosis are back pain caused by fracture or collapsed vertebrae, loss of height overtime, a stooped posture, and/or a bone fracture that occurs more easily than expected”. (Mayo