Ronda Gates, MS
Ask anyone to describe a woman with osteoporosis. What you’ll hear is, "a stooped over old woman," or "a person with a dowager’s hump." It’s not that simple. Women of all ages need to be concerned about osteoporosis:
1. Teens who use asthma inhalers
2. Twenty-somethings who exercise too much or diet excessively
3. Thirty-somethings who are treated for breast cancer or have had a hysterectomy
4. Forty-somethings who take thyroid replacement or drink too much coffee
5. Fifty-somethings who believe a daily vitamin pill and calcium supplement keeps bones strong
6. Sixty-somethings who don’t do weight bearing exercise
7. Seventy-somethings who think it’s too late to prevent the diseases of aging
Like a silent thief, osteoporosis can steal your bones without your knowledge. If that happens to the bones in the spine, they can collapse and cause a compression fracture. When it happens in the hip or an extremity even a simple fall can break a bone. Stunningly, it’s projected that fifty percent of all post-menopausal women who don’t know they have weak bones will have an osteoporosis-based fracture before they die. Twenty percent of these women who break their hip will die within one year of that fracture.
WHAT IS OSTEOPOROSIS?
A doctor will tell you that osteoporosis is "an insidious metabolic bone disease that results in a loss of bone at an accelerated rate." What that means is that the process of bone building and bone breakdown is seriously out of balance and the bones are at risk for fracture.
Bone is alive. Throughout life, old bone is removed and new bone is added to your skeleton. During childhood and teenage years new bone is added faster than old bone is removed, making bones larger, heavier, and denser. This faster pace of bone growth continues until you are about thirty years old. After that bone loss slowly begins to exceed bone formation until menopause when bone loss can be dramatic. Sadly, this occurs without symptoms so most people don’t know they have osteoporosis until they break a bone. If you have ever had a fracture and thought, "I’m surprised that bone broke," it’s possible your bones are weak.
AM I AT RISK FOR OSTEOPOROSIS?
Understanding what causes osteoporosis is critical to a proactive approach to bone health. There are well known risk factors for osteoporosis:
1. Risks that are uncontrollable like age, gender or genetic predisposition.
2. Risks that are dependent on your lifestyle like exercise and eating habits.
HOW CAN I DETERMINE IF I HAVE WEAK BONES?
A bone density test can confirm bone weakness or, more importantly, detect low bone density before a fracture occurs. The heel bone scan you experience at Speaking of Women’s Health conferences and other screening venues is a good screening method. The test to determine bone density is a DEXA scan because it can measure fracture-prone spots including your hip, wrist, or shoulder. Don’t be intimidated by the big DEXA bone-scanning machine. The test won’t hurt and the amount of x-ray used is less than you are exposed to on an airplane trip. When bone loss occurs to quickly or if bone replacement occurs too slowly you may hear, "You have osteoporosis."
There are two ways of scoring a bone scan. A Z-score compares your bones to other women your age. Your T-score, a frequently used measurement, compares your bones to that of a woman with healthy bone.
Your DEXA scan will give one of three results. The best news is, "Your bones are strong-keep up the good work." If you have had some bone loss but not enough to render a diagnosis of osteoporosis you will be told you have osteopenia. That’s a signal to become proactive about lifestyle changes that can slow bone loss. The news, "You have osteoporosis," is a trigger for a prescription that can slow or stop bone loss and decrease fracture risk.
CAN OSTEOPOROSIS BE TREATED?
There are several therapeutic medications approved for the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis. The most popular are a class of drugs called bisphosphonates. Other treatments include sex hormone related medications, and for serious disease, injections of a form of human parathyroid hormone. Although osteoporosis occurs without our awareness, once a bone breaks the pain can be debilitating-especially if the fracture occurs in the spine. Happily, there are now minimally invasive orthopedic treatments that can stabilize spinal fractures and reduce pain. Regardless, a comprehensive program to treat osteoporosis also includes a significant focus on proper nutrition, exercise, and safety issues that can prevent the falls that can result in fractures.
WHAT CAN I DO TO KEEP MY BONES STRONG?
If you want to be proactive about your bone health, you’ll get the most bang for your buck with an exercise and strength-building program because bone responds to exercise by becoming stronger. Impact exercises including walking, hiking, jogging, stair climbing, and dancing work best. Add some strength-building weight training and you’ll increase bone mass faster as the tension hard working muscles puts on bones can prevent bone loss and, in some cases, increase bone density. Beyond that, it’s essential to eat calcium-containing foods that make bones strong including low fat dairy products, dark green leafy vegetables, and foods fortified with calcium including orange juice, cereals, and whole grain breads. Additionally, a twice-a-day calcium supplement that includes the vitamin D to help the calcium get into your bones is critical to bone health. Since calcium needs increase with age, ask your doctor about the right dose for you.
Last but not least, remember that cigarettes and alcohol are devastating to your bones. The only thing that’s better than less of these is none at all.
Smart women can have strong bones. But there is no magic. Outwitting osteoporosis requires proactive health and lifestyle choices. The effort is well worth it. I know. Osteoporosis stole my mother’s life. I’m in my mid-sixties and wise choices have rendered strong bones for me. They can for you too.
Links:
Osteoporosis Risk Factors
Food Sources: Calcium
Calcium Needs at Various Ages
