What is osteoporosis

Many of us heard about osteoporosis. But not everyone has an idea of \u200b\u200bhim. Most know that this disease is somehow connected with bones. And what exactly is hidden behind it and how osteoporosis can affect the quality of life, we do not know and think that this problem will be. And in vain. This is a very insidious and dangerous disease that manifests itself only when it is almost impossible to correct something. But whether this diagnosis will be made or not, largely depends on us, on our awareness and on our actions.

1

What is osteoporosis

The World Health Organization determines this disease in this way:

Osteoporosis is a disease in which the total volume of bone mass decreases, its internal structure is destroyed. This leads to an increase in the fragility of bones and a significant increase in the possibility of fractures.

Osteoporosis appears due to a lack of calcium. And calcium is one of the most important components of bone tissue. At some point, the body ceases to receive the required amount. Accordingly, with a lack of calcium, the quality of the bones worsens.

In addition, calcium is also involved in other metabolic processes in the body. With its insufficient intake from outside, the body begins to use its resources, i.e. takes calcium from the same bones. Thus, our bone tissue receives a double blow.
In simple language, calcium literally “washed out” from the bones. Only voids remain in them. Yes the very name "osteoporosis" in translation means "porosity of bones."
In the vast majority of cases, older women are subject to this disease (after 45 years, i.e. after the onset of menopause). Many times less often this disease is suffered by men over 65 years old.
But there are cases of young (up to 30 years) and even youthful osteoporosis (13-17 years old).

2

Why osteoporosis occurs

There may be many reasons that calcium is not enough. The easiest cause for correction is its disadvantage in food. Then the problem is solved by adjusting the nutrition. But most often the reason is its poor absorption by the body. This does not happen in itself. Often this is fraught with some kind of functional failure in the body, which is drawn after itself in the metabolism.
The main reasons, or rather factors that provoke osteoporosis, can be called the following:

• menopause in women;
• pregnancy;
• problems with the endocrine system (violation of the thyroid gland, pancreas, diabetes mellitus, ovarian ovarian disruption at a young age);
• bad habits: cigarettes, alcohol, drugs;
• a sedentary way of life;
• taking some types of drugs (antidepressants, heartburn preparations, increased cholesterol, some types of hormonal drugs, etc.);
• various diseases - intestinal inflammation, liver disease, etc.;

3

Symptoms of osteoporosis

Osteoporosis - along with diabetes, is called a "quiet" killer. And indeed it is. He practically does not show himself in the process of development. Only on some indirect health problems without a special examination can you understand that this disease already exists.
These problems include the following symptoms:

• back pain when standing;
• spinal pain in the cervical region and in the lower back both stupid and sharp;
• sharp pains of limbs;
• joint problems;
• a fracture of the limbs in some household situation (a person falls from a height of his own height and instead of a bruise receives a turning point);
• decrease in human growth;
• the stoop that appeared, curvature of the spine;
• a suddenly appeared problem with teeth (loss), a problem with hair and nails.

4

Treatment and prevention of osteoporosis

Whatever advertisement told us there, but treatment of osteoporosis as this does not exist. No drug is able to resume bone tissue. Everyone who says otherwise is charlatans who want to make money.

Any treatment of osteoporosis is aimed at maintaining the current state of bones and not allowing the disease to progress further. If a person has been made this terrible diagnosis, then he can only follow the recommendations of doctors so that the disease does not progress and try to be more careful not to damage himself. But those who have not yet made this diagnosis (and most women will put it early or shade) can try to protect themselves from this disease by engaging in its prevention.

Prevention of an existing problem and the prevention of the problem that can potentially arise looks approximately the same. Its obligatory components:

1. Calcium. Women under 45 years old and men need to take 1 mg of calcium per day. Women after 45 years need to take 1.2 mg. Women who are diagnosed with osteoporosis - 1.5 mg. A person can get this dose both from food and from the tablet. Ideally, half of the daily dose must be taken from food. Be sure to all calcium should be accepted with Vitamin D. Otherwise, he will be useless.
2. Physical load. They do not have to be power and long. The main thing is that they are regular and include a set of exercises that strengthen the bones and muscles of the back, arms, legs, neck.
3. Massage. If the diagnosis is already made, then the massage should not be power. Those. It should not be hurt.
4. Refusal of smoking, drugs and restriction of alcohol.
5. If possible refusal of drugsthat interfere with the proper absorption of calcium by the body.
6. Moderate stay in the sun.
7. Timely examination. Today, the most effective way to diagnose osteoporosis is densitometry. This is a method that is similar to tomography, but is aimed at identifying the degree of destruction of bones in different parts of the body. In addition, there is a whole range of tests that allows you to find out the condition of the bones.
8. Medication prevention.It is already prescribed to those people who have diagnosed osteoporosis and who do not help standard methods. This method is designed to suspend the destruction of bones.

Prevention of osteoporosis should begin in infancy and continue until you Young, when the bone mass of a person is laid and develops. After 14-15 years, most girls no longer gain bone mass. After this age, you can only protect what was acquired.

Of course, osteoporosis is a terrible diagnosis that is made by 90 % of the women of our country. This disease is completely immobilized if a complex fracture was obtained. But warned, it means armed. If each of us thinks about what can be done in order to protect ourselves from this disease, then the quality of our life will be much better. And the disease, if it comes, will not be as terrible as it could be without prevention.