Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis:
Osteoporosis is a systemic skeletal disease in which bone breakdown (reabsorption) outpaces bone formation. This can lead to fragility fractures and fractures even with minor falls. This is a super common condition that affects a large percentage of the population. It is usually diagnosed with a DEXA scan that is done at a certain age, but can also be done if an individual has certain risk factors. What a lot of people don't realize is that you reach your peak bone mineral density (the maximum strength/density of bones) around the 25-30 y/o range. After that, you are working to maintain what you have and prevent degradation. Non-modifiable risks such as age, female sex, history of fractures, certain medical conditions, and parenteral hip fractures can contribute to osteoporosis. However, there are a lot of things that we can do to slow down the process. If you are younger, it is important to be doing weight-bearing exercises and eating adequate protein, as well as getting enough vitamin D and calcium. There are some modifiable risks that you can work on; these include reducing alcohol intake, stopping smoking, raising BMI (if <20), and increasing physical activity. Of course, there are lots of medication options if it should come to that, but initially the important thing is staying active with weight-bearing exercises, eating healthy foods, using fall prevention strategies, and supplementing with calcium and vitamin D if you can't get enough from diet/sunlight. I hope these tips are helpful, and maybe you learned something today!! :)
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