Osteoporosis

What is osteoporosis?

Osteoporosis literally means ‘porous bones’. Our bones are made up of a thick outer shell and a strong inner honeycomb mesh of tiny struts of bone. Osteoporosis means some of these struts become thin or break. This makes the bone more fragile and prone to break. It often remains undetected until the time of this first broken bone. Broken wrists, hips and spinal bones are the most common fractures in people with osteoporosis. (National Osteoporosis Association)

What causes osteoporosis?

There are two types of cells which are constantly at work in our bones. One set builds up new bone while another set break down old bone. Up until our mid-20s the ‘construction’ cells work the hardest building strength into our skeleton, it is at this age we reach skeletal maturity and maximum bone density. From our 40s onwards, the demolition cells play a larger role compared to that of the building/contsruction cells and our bones gradually lose their density as a natural part of ageing. Sadly, one in two women and one in five men over the age of 50 in the UK will break a bone, mainly as a result of osteoporosis.

Who is at risk?

There are several ‘risk’ factors and groups of people ‘at risk’, these are listed below.

Immobility and sedentary lifestyles
Early menopause or hysterectomy in women, before the age of 45
Men if they have low levels of testosterone (known as hypogonadism)
People who have broken a bone after only a minor trauma (called a fragility fracture)
People who take corticosteroid medication (for conditions such as asthma or arthritis)
People with a family history of osteoporosis, particularly if your mother has broken her hip
Medical conditions which affect the absorption of foods, such as Crohn’s disease, coeliac disease or ulcerative colitis
Drinking excessive amounts of alcohol
Smokers
Women who are underweight or are recognised as having an eating disorder

I think I might be at risk. Can I be tested for osteoporosis?

Unfortunately, you cannot see or feel your bones getting thinner. Many people are unaware of any problems until they break a bone or start to lose height.

Here at Ridgeway, we are able to measure your bone density using a special scan, called a dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scan. It is a simple, painless procedure and is recommended for those people who we consider to be at risk of osteoporosis. Osteoporosis diagnosed on a bone density scan does not always mean you have a high risk of breaking a bone at the time of the scan so a drug treatment is not always necessary or appropriate. The way in which you live your life can be a large factor and certain lifestyle changes may help in the prevention of, or reduction of osteporotic changes.

The way we live our lives can have a major impact on the health of our bones. It's worth remembering that bones are alive and constantly changing. Old, worn out bone is replaced with new bone in a process called 'bone turnover'. A child's whole skeleton is replaced within about two years. In adults this process takes longer - about seven to 10 years. So while this is happening it is important that we give our bones a helping hand. We take it for granted that our skeleton will provide a solid framework for life but heart, skin and eyes, it needs looking after!

Can I prevent osteoporosis?

There are measures you can take to influence bone health. Although some of these steps don’t sound much they are still an important and that can make a difference.

So what can I do?

Get physical! - There is no getting away from the fact that exercise is the best way to help strengthen your bones.

Bone boosters

The research is plentiful and it is a well known fact that your bones grow stronger if you do weight-bearing exercise. Good examples are:

Jogging
Aerobics
Tennis
Weight lifting
Dancing
Brisk walking

A good way to help maximise the density of your bones when you are younger is to do brief bouts of high impact exercise. Activities as simple as jumping up and down on the spot, provide a force to the hip and spine, it is the impact when your feet hit the ground that gives stess to the bones causing them to increase bone building cell activity, strengthen the bones.

Another form of excellent bone-building exercise includes using weights, where the action of the tendons pulling on the bones seems to cause greater bone density. But don't be put off, any form of weight lifting, such as simply lifting a tin of beans in front of the TV, can help strengthen your wrist bones (a common site for broken bones due to osteoporosis).

Active lifestyles

If you already have osteoporosis you may need to be careful of vigorous, high impact exercise, but it's important to stay active and find something you enjoy. Gradually increasing the amount of physical activity you do at any age, even if you are in your 90s, will benefit your bones. Leading an active lifestyle will ensure you have good balance and co-ordination as well as developing muscle strength. All these can reduce your risk of falling and therefore breaking a bone, particularly your hip. Good examples are:

Gardening
Walking
Golf
Tai Chi
Healthy eating

As we all know, healthy eating is essential for our overall health, it's also important to tuck into bone friendly foods to provide the proper nutrients for maximising bone strength. The body contains 1kg of calcium, 99 percent of which is stored in our bones. It is important we eat plenty of calcium but lots of other vitamins and minerals are also important. If you enjoy a wide variety of food you will get a mix of all the vitamins and minerals you need. It's a good idea to avoid:

Too much protein - particularly animal protein such as meat and cheese. Excessive amounts of protein may upset the acid balance within the body which then takes calcium from the bones to neutralise it.
Too many grain foods like cereal and bread can have the same effect. Eating plenty of fruit and vegetables should keep your body's acid balance stable.
Lots of salt - high levels of sodium can increase the amount of calcium the body secretes of through urine. Watch out for 'hidden' levels of salt in processed foods!
Drinking lots of fizzy drinks - phosphate, in the form of phosphoric acid, is used to improve the flavour in a lot of fizzy drinks and too much can cause the body to use calcium to balance levels.
Drinking too much caffeine - again, a high consumption of caffeine could affect the balance of calcium in the body. Try to limit your intake to one or two cups a day.
Letting your weight drop too low or being overweight is not good for general health, but being underweight increases the risk of broken bones when you fall. In younger women severe weight loss may stop menstrual periods because hormone levels drop which can also increase your risk of breaking a bone.