What is Osteoporosis ?
Osteoporosis is a disease in which bones deteriorate or become brittle and fragile due to low bone mass and bone tissue loss. The condition is often referred to as a “silent disease” because you cannot feel your bones getting weaker, and many people don’t even know they have the condition until after they break a bone.
Here are few causes of Osteoporosis :-
- Bone is living, growing tissue that consists mostly of the protein collagen, which provides a soft framework, and the mineral calcium phosphate, which adds strength and hardens the framework.
Bone is not a static part of the body — it’s constantly being resorbed (broken down) and formed throughout your life. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), your entire skeleton is replaced about every 10 years. During your childhood and teenage years, bone formation occurs more quickly than bone resorption, resulting in growth. Osteoporosis is more likely to develop if you did not reach optimal peak bone mass during your bone-building years. You reach your maximum bone density and strength around age 30, after which time bone resorption slowly overtakes bone formation. Osteoporosis develops when there’s an abnormal imbalance between bone resorption and formation — that is, resorption occurs too quickly, or formation too slowly. Anything that causes your body to destroy too much bone can cause your bones to become brittle or fragile. Women experience the most bone loss during the first few years after menopause, and they continue to lose bone from this point on. Osteoporosis: Risk Factors
Osteoporosis increases the risk of fractures, particularly of the hips, spine, and wrists. In fact, osteoporosis causes an estimated 9 million fractures each year worldwide.
As the most common type of bone disease, osteoporosis affects approximately 10 million Americans, and another 44 million people have low bone density, which puts them at risk for the disease.
While osteoporosis mainly affects women, men can also develop the condition. In fact, 1 in 2 women and up to 1 in 4 four men who are over age 50 will break a bone due to osteoporosis.
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