Osteoporosis is a silent disease with serious consequences. While you may not even know you have it, osteoporosis could cause your bones to break easily and your back to develop a curve or hump. The good news is that there are ways to prevent it, especially if you develop healthy habits early in life.

Effects of Osteoporosis

About 10 million people over age 50 in the United States have osteoporosis, a disease that thins and weakens a person's bones, making the bones more fragile.

Your body reaches peak bone density in your early 30s. That’s because your body forms new bone at a faster pace than it loses it (resorption) until around age 30. After age 30, however, bone loss slowly gets faster than bone formation.

This means that everyone loses bone density as they grow older. In women, the rate of loss increases for several years after menopause. It then slows again but continues. In men, bone loss occurs more slowly. By age 65 or 70, men and women are losing bone at the same rate.

People with osteoporosis are more likely to suffer bone breaks. In fact, half of all women and about 25% of men ages 50 and older have at least one broken bone due to brittle bones.

Something as harmless as coughing can cause a rib to break. But falls are the most common causes of bone breaks. When someone falls, the most likely bones to break are the back, wrist and hip. Osteoporosis can also cause a curved or humped back due to compression fractures in the vertebrae of the spine.

Risk Factors for Osteoporosis

Women are more likely to have osteoporosis than men. Here are a few additional factors that make it more likely that you will experience osteoporosis:

• Lifestyle habits. Getting too little weight-bearing exercise and not enough calcium and vitamin D can increase your risk for osteoporosis.

• Drinking too much alcohol. Drinking too much alcohol interferes with how your body uses calcium and vitamin D. Both nutrients are important for healthy bones.

• Being a smoker. Smokers may have less bone density. Smoking reduces the blood supply to your bones and decreases the absorption of calcium.

• Family history. If your parents have a history of broken bones, you may also be at risk for them.

Diagnosing Osteoporosis

The best way to find bone density is by getting a DEXA scan (dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry). The DEXA scan can show if you are at risk for a broken bone.

If you have already broken a bone and your healthcare provider thinks you might have osteoporosis, the test can confirm the diagnosis. Your provider may prescribe medicine to treat osteoporosis.

Preventing Osteoporosis

Developing healthy habits can help prevent osteoporosis.

It’s important to engage in regular weight-bearing exercise – activities that work your legs against gravity. Examples include walking, dancing, jogging, stair-climbing, playing racket sports and hiking. Check with your healthcare provider before beginning any exercise.

Follow a diet that has plenty of calcium and vitamin D. Canned salmon with bones, low-fat dairy foods and beverages, leafy green vegetables and fortified beverages such as orange juice, soy milk and almond milk are good sources of calcium.

Being out in the sun for 10 to 15 minutes a day, without sunscreen, two days a week helps most people’s bodies make enough vitamin D. You can also get vitamin D from eggs, fatty fish and fortified cereal and milk. Talk with your healthcare provider about your diet and whether you need to take a vitamin and mineral supplement.

Don't smoke. If you smoke, get help from your provider to quit. And don't drink too much alcohol.

If you are looking for a primary care provider, Aultman Medical Group Primary Care has more than 80 providers ready to take care of you and your family. Many of our offices are accepting new patients – and more than likely, we have a location in your community.

Visit aultman.org/NewDoc to find a provider in your area who is accepting new patients, or call the new patient hotline at 330-433-1264 for assistance with scheduling your appointment.

Source: The StayWell Company, LLC