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What are the signs of osteoporosis and what can I do to prevent it?
Osteoporosis is a bone disease whereby the density and quality of bone is reduced, and, as the bone becomes progressively more porous, the risk of fracture increases. It can affect both men and women, although postmenopausal women are at highest risk.
The disease is typically silent in the early stages; there are often no symptoms until the first fragility fracture happens. Tell-tale signs that you can look out for are:
• Developing a stooped posture. (This occurs due to multiple vertebral fractures causing the loss of normal spinal curvature, and leading to your back hunching forward.)
• Progressive loss of height. (As the vertebral bones weaken and collapse, there will be loss of height, and this may occur even in the absence of a “hunchback”. Losing more than 3cm in height may signal that osteoporosis is present.)
• Back pain.
• Oral health conditions (for example, the loosening and
loss of teeth) may arise due to loss of bone in the jaw. Prevention is key; steps you can take include the following:
• Maintaining adequate calcium intake; we need a total of 8001000mg/day of elemental calcium in our diet.
• Ensuring sufficient vitamin D intake; vitamin D from food sources alone (eggs, salmon and cod, for example) may not be sufficient, so supplementation may be necessary. The best natural way to achieve this is through sun exposure of 15 minutes per day, if there are no contraindications.
• Keep up regular physical activity, including weight-bearing exercises (walking, jogging or stair climbing, for instance).
• Avoid smoking.
• Avoid excessive alcohol.
Osteoporosis is usually detected with a bone mineral density test called a DEXA scan, and medications are available to address or slow down the onset of the disease.
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