Osteoporosis is a condition where your bones lose calcium (and other minerals) and they become very brittle and easily broken. It affects many older adults, but it is not necessarily detected by routine medical examinations. It affects women more than men, but men do also get this condition.
When we are young our bodies are in the mode of generating new bones and larger bones. We are also typically much more active as children and adolescents. As we get older and participate in less weight bearing activities, our bones lose the calcium, phosphorus and other minerals that is normally in our bones and which give structure and strength to our bones. When the bones have lost a lot of these minerals, they become brittle and fracture easily – even sneezing can fracture ribs or vertebrae in someone with severe osteoporosis. Hips, ribs, and spinal vertebrae are the most frequently fractured (broken) bones when someone has osteoporosis.
We peak of our bone mass at between age 25 and 35, and then we start to lose some of the minerals in our bones. In women, with menopause also comes decreasing amounts of estrogen which also contributes to accelerating the loss of bone minerals, which is why many more women are affected by osteoporosis.
How is osteoporosis detected?
Osteoporosis can be detected by bone scans or by plain x-rays, although once it is enough to show up on x-rays there has typically been bone loss for awhile. Your chiropractor may talk to you about osteoporosis if it is seen on your x-rays, and will typically use different techniques (low impact techniques) to adjust you.
Things that you can do to keep your bone mass up:
Be active – weight bearing activities such as walking, low impact aerobics, tennis, gardening and using weights while exercising all help keep bone loss to a minimum. When your bones are continually stressed, the body naturally realizes that they need to have more minerals in them for strength. Swimming or bicycling, non-weight bearing activities do not promote denser bones.
Nutrition – adequate amounts of calcium and Vitamin D (essential for the body’s uptake of calcium). Both of these items need to be included in your daily diet. Many dark green vegetables have calcium, as does milk and almonds. Vitamin D is also in milk and in sunlight. Your skin uptakes Vitamin D when you are walking or doing things outside. Vitamin D is not absorbed when you are using sunblock. If you don’t think that you are getting enough calcium and/or Vitamin D consider taking some supplements. At least 1000 ius of Calcium and 800 ius of Vitamin D are recommended.