In the UK, over 3 million people are estimated to have osteoporosis and from that, 500,000 fractures occur each year.
What is Osteoporosis?
Osteoporosis or ‘porous bone‘ is a condition that affects your bones. It weakens your bones and makes them fragile and easily breakable. It develops slowly and overtime and is generally diagnosed after a fall or break.
The most common places that those with osteoporosis experience fractures or breaks is in their:
- Wrists
- Hips
- Spinal cord
Woman over the age of 50 are more likely to develop the condition over men. While we all experience bone loss as we age, woman lose bone rapidly in the first few years after the menopause. There are a number of other factors that can cause the condition. Factors such as:
- Lack of exercise
- Being underweight
- Having other medical conditions such as arthritis
- Heavy drinking and/or smoking
- Family history
Early Warning Signs of Osteoporosis:
Osteoporosis is often referred to as porous bone and the ‘silent disease‘. This is because you cannot feel your bones weakening. In it’s early stages, osteoporosis shows no symptoms. Once it sets in there are 3 big warning signs to look out for.
Stooped Posture
We all assume that getting shorter as we age is normal. When it comes to osteoporosis the cause of stooped posture is the breaking of bones in your spine (without you even realising it). Overtime this can lead to stooped posture and/or pot belly. Pot belly means that your stomach is bulging out because your rib cage is literally sitting on our hips. Never assume that this is all a part of aging, always talk to your doctor.
Back Pain
Prolonged periods of back pain could be a potential warning sign. Never ignore back pain and always reach out to your doctor. They will be able to perform tests to identify the issue whether it be a trapped nerve, slipped disc or possibly osteoporosis.
Unexplained Broken Bones
When you have osteoporosis, your bones can fracture and break extremally easily. When we say easy, we mean it. A bone could break when you cough or sneeze or even when tolling over in bed. If you or a loved one has any unexplained broken bones, its time to talk to your doctor. They will be able to rule out possibilities such as osteoporosis with a scan.
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