Sequential Post on We Men Celebrating Women’s Day – Osteoporosis Disease (For Chennai Bloggers Club)

Sequential Post on We Men Celebrating Women’s Day – Osteoporosis Disease (For Chennai Bloggers Club)

“Osteoporosis” is the next disease which am going to share with you all as a part of We Men Celebrating Women’s Day .

What is Osteoporosis :

Osteoporosis, which means “porous bones,” is a condition that causes bones to become weak and brittle, leading to fractures. Osteoporosis usually progresses painlessly until a fracture occurs, usually in the hip, spine or wrist. The condition can cause pain, difficulty breathing, a loss of independence and even death when complications occur from some fractures.

Why Women are more prone to Osteoporosis than Men :

Women tend to have smaller, thinner bones than men.

Estrogen, a hormone in women that protects bones, decreases sharply when women reach menopause, which can cause bone loss. This is why the chance of developing osteoporosis increases as women reach menopause.

Studies have been revealing that, In the five – seven years following menopause, a woman can lose up to 20% of her bone density.

Occurrence of Osteoporosis in Asian – African Women :

About 20 percent of Asian American women age 50 and older are estimated to have osteoporosis.

More than half of all Asian American women age 50 and older are estimated to have low bone density, which means their bones are getting weaker but they don’t yet have osteoporosis.

About 90 percent of Asian American adults are lactose intolerant, which can make it difficult to get enough calcium.

Precautions :

Osteoporosis is usually preventable. Females need to take steps to protect the health of their bones while they are still children and throughout their teenage and young adult years, since peak bone mass is usually obtained by age 30 or before. Building strong bones at a young age lessens the effect of the natural bone loss that occurs after menopause.

Get Enough Calcium and Vitamin D

Eat Well Balanced Diet

Exercise for atleast 30 Minutes a day

Avoid smoking and drinking

Symptoms :

Osteoporosis is called the "silent disease" because bone is lost with no signs. You may not know that you have osteoporosis until a strain, bump, or fall causes a bone to break.

Some of the symptoms which have been cited are

There are no symptoms in the early stages of osteoporosis. Many times, people will have a fracture before learning that they have the disease.

Pain almost anywhere in the spine can be caused by fractures of the bones of the spine. These are called compression fractures. They often occur without an injury. The pain occurs suddenly or slowly over time.

There can be a loss of height (as much as 6 inches) over time. A stooped posture or kyphosis (also called a dowager's hump) may develop.

Diagnosis :

Diagnosing osteoporosis in young women usually involves several steps. While these steps may differ for each person, they may include:

Your medical history

Physical exam

Bone mineral density (bone density) testing

Lab  tests

X-rays

Please be aware that Osteoporosis can be prevented. Hence if you come across any of the symptoms as mentioned above, be extremely careful and consult the doctor in this regard. Osteoporosis can be prevented if we diagnose the fractures and other symptoms early. Earlier the Better.

With this am completing my post about We Men Celebrating Women’s Day. Thanks to Chennai Bloggers Club for their support and their initiative which made me to search and research on these diseases which should be brought to notice of the women.

Guys, if you come across any such symptoms of Auto-Immune disease (Which I posted yesterday) and Osteoporosis in your mom, sister, spouse, friends etc please make them aware . For all the diseases, the manthra will be “earlier the better” .

Let this post be an Eye – Opener and make a better tomorrow.

Happy Women’s Day, Chant the Slogan “Healthy Tomorrow”.

References : idph site, nof.org, niams site