Osteoporosis

Common symptoms, diagnosis and cure of Osteoporosis

Anna had been experiencing slight pain in her shoulders and lower back for sometime. Assuming that it was due to fatigue as a part of old age, she overlooked the symptoms. Little did she know that it was osteoporosis, the ‘silent disease’ creeping into her body making her bones fragile.

Very often, the patient having osteoporosis does not feel sick; hence the problem is not diagnosed until it reaches an advanced stage. As osteoporosis progresses, its symptoms start becoming evident in the form of severe back pain, or hampering the daily routine activities which begin to get extremely tiring. Osteoporosis weakens the bones leading to thinning of bone tissue and loss of bone density; a common factor being age, found mostly in women over the age of 50. The hip, spine and wrist are especially vulnerable to fractures even from minor injuries.

Common symptoms occurring late in the disease are:

- Back pain slowly leading to a bent back, called a dowager's hump (kyphosis) as the bones of the spine gradually collapse.
- Cramps in the legs
- Shoulder and Neck pain
- Loss of height
- Tooth loss due to a weaker jawbone structure.
- Fatigue
- Knee pain indicating other health problems such as arthritis.
- Pain in the bones or muscles, particularly of the back.

As the symptoms don’t appear early, it is often difficult to get treatment at the right time. However, a few tests are available to detect the stage of osteoporosis in the patient and the corresponding treatment provided.

Diagnosis methods:

- Bone density tests: Specialized tests which measure the bone density in various parts of the body. They measure the rate at which the patient is more susceptible to fractures and the rate at which the bone loss is occurring in the body.
- Blood tests
- Spine X-ray
- Spine CT

The bone mineral density tests deals with a dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). The results are measured by a T-score. If the T-score is -2.5 or lower, the diagnosis is osteoporosis. If the T-score is between -1.0 and -2.5, the patient is considered to show osteopenia (a reduction in bone mass, not as severe as osteoporosis).

Treatments:

There are a number of treatments available which bring relief to a person dealing with osteoporosis. Initially, the doctor recommends healthy fruits and vegetables especially ones containing Vitamin C. Calcium supplements are also given along with to increase the calcium content in the bones. If osteoporosis is at a very advanced stage, treatments such as physiotherapy or estrogen replacement therapy are given.

Little did Anna realize that she was facing an acute problem. She underwent blood tests and bone density tests. She has been advised to take calcium supplements all her life and regular physiotherapy sessions for at least two months. Though she has regained health, she firmly believes in visiting a doctor before the pain gets excruciating and intolerable. As they say, prevention is the best cure.