All you need to know about the osteoporosis condition
Osteoporosis used to be a word that was only used by physicians, nowadays the term is well known and a wealth of information is available to the general public. This comes both from well qualified researchers and physicians and from lower quality sources such as newspapers and magazines; the quality of articles in the latter media ranges from superb, well thought out information on osteoporosis treatments to downright stupid and possibly dangerous information on osteoporosis.
The aims of the osteoporosis advice website are to bring you high quality informatative facts and tips about the prevention, management and treatment of the condition.
The terminology that is associated with osteoporosis was initially established in the nineteenth century by German physicians and was further defined in 1941 by Fuller Albright as ‘a condition in which there is lack of bone tissue, but that tissue which remains is fully calcified’. A more general definition is that osteoporosis symptoms are a systemic skeletal disease that is characterised by low bone mass and a deterioration of the micro-architecture of bone tissue that leads to bones becoming more fragile, increasing the probability of fractures.
Osteoporosis is generally considered as secondary to other conditions and there are three major classifications that are used when defining osteoporosis:
1. Osteopenia (low bone mass) is when the bone mineral density is between 1 and 2.5 standard deviations below that of young adults.
2. Osteoporosis occurs when bone density falls below 2.5 standard deviations of young adults.
3. Established osteoporosis occurs when a fracture has occurred as a consequence of the condition.
Now that the background has been covered we are able to classify the condition into osteoporosis with and without identifiable causes.
Bone mass reaches its apex in the thirties and forties, and in the majority, though not all of the population, bone loss occurs with age. Some of the identifiable causes associated with the condition include hormone deficiency (vitamin D deficiency; male and female hypogonadism); hormone excess (hyperprolactinaemia, excess glucocorticoid, hyperthyroidism); nutritional factors (digestive abnormalities, malabsorbtion syndromes); Renal bone disease; inflammatory disorders (crohns disease, rheumatoid arthritis); immobilisation and osteoporosis caused through neoplastic bone marrow disorders. Non identifiable conditions include idiopathic juvenile and adult, and senile osteoporosis.
Given the ageing population of the world more and more women (and a significant number of men) are becoming predisposed to the osteoporotic syndrome. In addition to the pains and risks associated with the osteoporosis condition sufferers may have to go through great personal challenges such as loss of income, extended immobility and regular costly appointments with doctors during their osteoporosis treatments.
It is hoped that the informative osteoporosis advice pages will help to give you information that will lead to a fuller understanding of the condition. Topics covered on this site include osteoporosis medicines, symptoms, risk factors, the menopause, investigations into bone fractures, prevention of osteoporosis, management of the condition, calcium guide, exercise, hormone replacement therapy and osteoporosis history.