Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is a disease of the bone. The bones become weak and brittle and are prone to fractures. A person with osteoporosis can fracture a bone just by hitting a table or turning while in bed. Most people with osteoporosis keep on getting fractures because the weight of the body cannot be supported by the bone and normal body movements, including walking, will strain the bone. This condition arises when the rate of bone growth cannot keep pace with bone loss. Osteoporosis can affect any bone including the hip, wrist or spine.
Prevalence
Osteoporosis is a common problem worldwide. It affects people of all races and ages. Older people are particularly prone to the disease because the ageing process involves bone weakening,
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He will also examine your spine to find out if it is upright. Height loss and a bent spine are indicators of osteoporosis.
Bone Density Test
The doctor will perform a bone density test to establish the strength of your bones. This test is usually done on the hip and spine using a central dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) machine. Low bone density indicates a likelihood of osteoporosis.
Laboratory Tests
The doctor can also carry out laboratory tests on the blood and urine to identify what could be causing bone loss. These tests include testosterone levels in men, thyroid function tests and blood calcium levels. The doctor can also test whether the body has enough vitamin D. If the tests identify a condition in your body that is causing the bone loss, it is possible to cure that condition and end osteoporosis.
The doctor may also perform biochemical marker tests on the blood and urine which can give an indicator of the rate of loss or regeneration of bones. X-ray and Vertebral Fracture Assessments (VFAs) can also be performed to establish if there are any cracks in the spine. Other tests that the doctor can carry out include CT scan and MRI to get a clear picture of the internal bone structure including the possibility of changes that may have been caused by conditions such as
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The most dangerous fractures are those of the hip especially for elderly people. Studies have found that only about a third of people who get a hip fracture return to normal even after treatment. In fact, about 20 percent of the elderly people who get this fracture die within a year.
Another important factor for the outlook of patients with osteoporosis is whether the condition is detected early or late. If the condition is detected early enough, remedial measures are likely to succeed and slow down osteoporosis. Late diagnosis is problematic as it is difficult for osteoporosis that is advanced to be successfully reversed.
Your doctor can be able to check your potential for developing osteoporosis using the WHO Fracture Risk Assessment Tool (FRAX®). The tool utilizes information such as bone density and lifestyle to predict the chances of you breaking a bone such as spine, hip, forearm and shoulder in the next ten years. This will guide your doctor in determining the correct intervention including putting you on osteoporosis medication.
10. What parts of the skeleton are most vulnerable to the ravages of osteoporosis? Since the elderly are at risk of getting osteoporosis especially in older women. The most common are areas of the body to get this disease would be the spine, ribs, wrist, hip and in the arm. Which in this case was the reason Margaret obtained her hip fracture.
Osteoporosis may be described in many ways. Which of the following accurately characterizes osteoporosis? More than one may apply.
But after the early stage, your bones may become weak. These signs include: back pain, shortness of breath, shrinkage in height and bad, irregular posture. Many people don’t start showing signs until they have broken a bone, such as a wrist bone or a hip bone. There are two different types of Osteoporosis. There is Juvenile Osteoporosis (which is very rare), it occurs in children that is due to medication or medical conditions. Premenopausal Osteoporosis which happens to older women before menopause. There are three different ways to check for Osteoporosis. The first one is a painless bone density scan called a dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) (Stang, 2016). The second one is a digital x-ray radiogrammetry (DXR), it is like the DXA but uses less technology. And the last one is ultrasounds. Ultrasound scans are also used to screen for osteoporosis but it is not able to get a good reading like the others, so this method isn’t used as often. If you break a bone the doctor will try these types of x-ray to see if it was caused by
Although Osteoporosis cannot be cured, treatments to prevent Osteoporosis, such as exercising, may be taken into huge consideration. “Exercise during the age when bone growth is occurring increases bone
Osteoporosis is a disease in which the bones become so weak and brittle that even a cough can cause enough stress on the bone that it will cause the bone to facture. The most commonly broken bones are the hip, wrist, and the spine. Although it affects men and women of all races, post-menopausal Caucasian and Asian women are more commonly affected than those of other ethnicities and sexes. In fact, thirty percent of all post-menopausal women in the US and Europe will be diagnosed with Osteoporosis and at least 40 percent of those will suffer from a fracture in their lifetime.
BMD is the most important quantifiable predictor of osteoporotic fracture and low BMD with other major risk factors combine to further increase a person’s risk of fracture (6). Therefore, measuring BMD in a postmenopausal woman or a man over the age of 50 with 1 of the other major risk factors for fracture is a must. Risk factors for osteoporotic fracture are additive and should not be considered to be independent of one another. They must be evaluated in the context of baseline age and sex-related risk of fracture (6). For example, a 55 year old with low BMD is at significantly less risk than a 75 year old with the same low BMD. A person with low BMD and a prior fragility fracture is at considered more risk than another person with the same low BMD and no fracture
...a casein-free diet was 19.9ng⁄mL, for participants not on a casein-free diet it was 19.6ng⁄mL, and for controls it was 17ng⁄mL. There were no differences in the measurements of 25 (OH) D in all groups. About sixty-one percent, fifty-four children, had concentrations of less than 20ng⁄mL. This is the minimum concentration recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics to ensure good bone health. These children could be at risk for problems associated with vitamin D deficiency. This includes concerns with bone health and calcium and phosphorus metabolism. Children with autism spectrum disorder are limited to what activities they can do and usually are not exposed to much sunlight causing them to be at a greater risk. Understanding the needs and taking preventive measures for children with autism will help reduce the risk of health problems as they enter adulthood.
Bone density generally refers to the strength of a bone and its ability to bear weight. Doing a bone density scan therefore measures a bone’s strength, its ability to bear weight, and its risk of fracture. The most common and accurate way to measure bone density is to use a Dual-Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DEXA) scan. (Medlineplus, 2014). Before the use of DEXA was introduced, osteoporosis could be determined only when a patient broke a bone, and by then, the bone may have become very weak. With a bone density scan however, it can be determined if a patient is at risk of bone fracture, or at risk of osteoporosis. The bone density scan is done with Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DEXA) equipment. The DEXA technology became available for clinical use in 1987, but before then, there were the Single Photon Absorptiometry (SPA), and Dual Photon Absorptiometry (DPA), both of which are no longer in use. (Dasher, Newton, & Lenchik, 2010). The bone density scan is usually done on the following patients:
This Preusser (2008) case study involves a 75 year old female, S.P., who fell at home and is admitted to the orthopedic ward for an intracapsular fracture of the hip at the femoral neck (p. 183). Assessment data includes her height is 5’3”, weight is 118 lbs, blood pressure...
The big picture. Where the two schools of medicine differ is in philosophy. Doctors of osteopathy "treat people, not just symptoms," says Karen Nichols, dean of the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine. "The course list looks exactly the same, but the M.D.'s focus is on discrete organs. The osteopathic focus is that all of those pieces are interrelated. You can't affect one with out affecting another." That means paying more than simple lip service to the idea of the "whole" patient: It means that diagnosis and treatment rely on an examination of a person's environment and family and general situation as well as his or her body. Not surprisingly, about 65 percent of the nation's 52,000 licensed osteopaths (by comparison, the country boasts at least 900,000 M.D.'s) are primary-care physicians. The American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine has a description of osteopathic training, as well as short profiles of 20 schools, at www.aacom.org. The D.O. programs and their contact information are listed in the directory section of this book.
Bone diseases most directly influence the ability to walk or to move any part of the body--hands, limbs, neck, and spine. They are related to joint disorders--ARTHRITIS, COLLAGEN DISEASE, DISLOCATION of joints, and RHEUMATISM. The medical specialty pertaining to bone disorders is ORTHOPEDICS. Fractures are the most common bone disorders. They can occur as the result of an accident or be secondary to metabolic diseases.
Obvious signs include crooked spine while bending over, fatigue, shortness of breath, uneven hemline on shirts, and an asymmetrical waistline. Less obvious signs must be detected by health professionals through early screening, or diagnosed by your physician during a comprehensive physical exam.
Osteoporosis comes from the latin word meaning “porous bone”. If you were to look closely at a bone you could see there are these small spaces on the bone which is good, now if you look at someone who suffers from osteoporosis you will see these spaces are much larger. As these spaces become larger it takes away from the strength and integrity of the bone making it grow weak and thin. Osteoporosis is most common in women over the age of 50 and gives them a higher risk of fractures and or breaks especially common in the hips. While we know osteoporosis comes from a number of things it can be broken down to age, the hormonal changes most commonly seen in menopause and a lower intake of Vitamin D and Calcium. Age is the unpreventable factor that doctors or you cannot change. Hormonal changes can be fixed with supplements or hormone therapy along with ones intake of Vitamin D and Calcium. Hormone therapy, estrogen alone or the combination of estrogen and progestin have been proven to prevent and aide in the treatment of osteoporosis in
A doctor will take your medical history and perform an examination of the back, hips, and legs to test for strength, flexibility, sensation, and reflexes. Other tests may include:
"What Tests Might Be Ordered ." Penn Orthopaedics . N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2014. .