Osteoporosis, meaning porous bones, occurs when the mineral density of bones is lower than the normal level. The bone loss with osteoporosis increases silently over many years and gives acute pain even while doing normal chores like walking, sitting, standing, or coughing. Depending upon the bone loss, it could even cause disability or multiple fragility fractures as it can affect any bone in a body. Throughout lifetime, our body uses two essential minerals, calcium and phosphate, to keep bones healthy. If these essential minerals are either not properly processed by our body or reabsorbed by our body from bones as we age, it could make bones brittle and weak. Weaker bones could lead to hip fractures, vertebral fractures, fractures in wrist, rib fractures and general pain in joints.
With proper diet, anyone can maintain good bone mineral density, which is the amount of mineral present per square centimeter of a bone. The higher the bone density, the stronger the bones. Bone density is generally affected by medications, environmental factors, and genetic factors. Bone density gradually increases until 25 years of age and it remains constant for next 10 years, and begins to decline gradually after the age of 40. Additionally, bones tend to lose calcium due to smoking, lack of exercise, and poor nutrition with low calcium and vitamin D intake. Osteoporosis develops silently over years and is detected only in the later stage. Here are 7 signs and symptoms of osteoporosis which can help you analyze osteoporosis:
Top Symptoms
1. Fragility fractures
The fragility fracture usually occurs due to weakness of bones, and can generally happen in the case of osteoporosis, infection of bones, inherited bone disorders, or cancer; but fragility fracture remains one of the predominantly noticed symptoms in osteoporosis. A normal healthy person ought to be able to fall from standing height without breaking his or her bones, but when such basic activities result in fracture, it is termed as fragility fracture. The three major fragility fractures that you can happen with thinning of bones are vertebral fracture, fracture of neck, and fracture of distal radius in the forearm with displacement of wrist and hand. As the bones become weak and thin, internal fractures occur often and results in severe pain. If you experience acute pain while doing basic activities, then it could be due to internal fragility fracture.
2. Height loss or stooping
Height loss occurs when normal vertebral body of spine is compressed or squished because of bone thinning. This collapse of spine is called as compression fracture that results in stooping or develops a curvature to spine. One of the common signs is back pain with curving of spine, which becomes noticeable as the bone thins out further. Initially, some might experience fracture of spine resulting in severe band-like pain that radiates all over the body. If not treated, repeated spinal fractures could lead to acute back pain and eventually to height loss. Bending of spine could be corrected using Kyphoplasty or vertebroplasty. However, it is better to take action in the initial stage because correcting a stooping back may not be so easy in the later stage.
3. Osteopenia
Osteopenia is the forerunner of osteoporosis and occurs most frequently in post-menopausal women because of loss of estrogen. The bone mineral density (BMD) in the case of osteopenia is lower than normal bone density, but not as low as in the case of osteoporosis. You may not find clear symptoms in the case of osteopenia, but if you undergo chemotherapy or have high exposure to radiation or have eating disorders, or metabolism problems, then you are more likely to have weaker bones resulting in osteopenia, which could eventually lead to osteoporosis if left untreated.
4. Frequent bone pain or joint pain
When bones thin out, it lacks sufficient strength to hold your body weight and results in frequent pains, especially in joints. This could also be due to heavy metals, as there seems to be a strong relation between heavy metals such as cadmium, lead, and bone disease. Higher level of cadmium can result in softening of bones, called as Osteomalacia, which could lead to osteoporosis. Osteomalacia happens when there is inadequate mineralization of bones and results in diffuse body pains, muscle weakness, and fragility of bones. As vitamin D helps body in absorbing and processing calcium, you can treat this condition with supplements of calcium and vitamin D.
5. Cushing syndrome leads to glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis
If you have hormone disorder with high levels of cortisol specifically glucocorticoid, then your immune system is suppressed with reduced bone formation. Some of the signs of Cushing syndrome include rapid weight gain especially in the trunk and face, thinning of skin, and insomnia. As Cushing syndrome inhibits osteoblast activity, it is the forerunner of osteoporosis. The major causes are medications like steroids, anti-seizure drugs, and oral steroids. In this case of glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis, you can bring the weakening of bones under control by doing exercise to condition muscles. Regular exercises are known to regulate weight gain and hormone imbalance.
6. Sedentary life style
If you find yourself having low energy to do even normal activities and feel like taking rest often, then it could be an indication of fragile bones unable to withstand normal stress. In that case, a person is confined to bed often and has less energy to do even daily chores. Confining to bed too often with poor calcium intake could lead to brittle bones, resulting in hip fracture. Additionally, as tobacco smoking and alcohol intake are known to reduce bone density, it is highly essential to stay away from them. With proper nutrition, balanced diet, and regular exercise, you can easily prevent osteoporosis from worsening. Regular exercise like walking, jogging, swimming, stair climbing along with 1500 mg of calcium intake in your diet have proven to delay bone degeneration.
7. Low body weight
Low body weight can result due to many factors like general weakness, hereditary, medications, age, or due to hormonal imbalance like hyperthyroidism. If you observe collective symptoms like weight loss, anxiety, weakness, fatigue, muscle aches, irritability, sweating, then it indicates hyperthyroidism, with osteoporosis silently developing inside your body due to imbalance of hormones resulting in removal of calcium from bones. In that case you need to improve your general health with proper nutrition. As vitamin D alone will not help in preventing osteoporosis, thinner people should take enough amount of calcium in their diet along with vitamin D supplements.
