WOMEN’S
Karachi-based Orthopaedic Surgeon Dr Rehana Shah
at the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, osteoporosis comes
at second place after heart disease. “This silent killer
affects 200 million women worldwide and causes over
200,000 fractures each year. Bones in a woman’s body
are constantly rebuilding themselves. As a woman starts
ageing, she begins to lose more bone cells than her body
can make,” informs Dr Shah. “Two essential minerals
for normal bone formation are calcium and phosphate.
Calcium is an important component that gives bone its
strength. Throughout youth, the body uses these minerals to produce bones. If calcium intake is insufficient or
if the body does not absorb enough calcium from the
diet, bone production and bone tissue may suffer. Thus,
the bones become weaker and result in breaking easily,” she explains. Oestrogen is important in maintaining
bone density in women. In this regard, Dr Shah says,
“When oestrogen levels drop after menopause the bone
loss accelerates significantly. During the first five to ten
years after menopause, women can suffer up to two to
four per cent of a loss of bone density per year. This can
result in the loss of up to 25 to 30 per cent of their bone
density during that period.” “Women who take birth control pills during their reproductive years may reduce their
risk of osteoporosis developing later in life because of
the presence of oestrogen in many of the oral contraceptives. Surgical menopause with the removal of the
ovaries accelerates the process of bone loss unless
oestrogen replacement therapy has begun. An inadequate intake of calcium throughout the life increases
the chance of bone loss since calcium is one of the main
components in bone,” adds Dr Shah.
Those at risk:
Ethnicity: Research has shown that Caucasian and
Asian women are more likely to develop osteoporosis.
Bone structure and body weight: Petite and thin women
have a greater risk of developing osteoporosis because
they have less bone to lose than women with more body
weight and larger frames. Similarly, small-boned, thin
men are at greater risk than men with larger frames and
more body weight. Family history: Heredity is one of the
most important risk factors for osteoporosis. If your parents or grandparents have had any signs of osteoporosis, such as a fractured hip after a minor fall, you may be
at greater risk of developing the disease.
Preventing osteoporosis:
There are multiple ways you can protect yourself against
osteoporosis. By bringing a little change in your lifestyle
you can keep your bones healthy. The first thing to do
is to establish a regular exercise programme in your
lifestyle. Exercising, walking, jogging, playing tennis,
and dancing help in making your bones and muscles
stronger and also prevent bone loss. It is important to
include foods high in calcium in your diet. The recommended daily allowance (RDA) of calcium for adults
with a low-to-average risk of developing osteoporosis is
1,000 mg each day. For those at high risk of develop-
ing osteoporosis, such as postmenopausal women, the
RDA increases up to 1,500 mg each day.Your body uses
vitamin D to absorb calcium. Being out in the sun for a
total of 20 minutes every day helps most people’s bodies make enough vitamin D. You can also get vitamin D
from eggs, fatty fish like salmon, cereal and milk fortified
with vitamin D, as well as from supplements.
Myths and facts
Think you know all about osteoporosis? Chances are,
some of the things you think you know about osteoporosis risk factors may be wrong. Osteoporosis is a complicated disease. With all the changing information out
there, it’s easy to get confused. Here are a few common
myths about osteoporosis
Myth: If I drink milk and take calcium supplements, I
won’t develop osteoporosis.
Fact: Getting enough calcium is important but that alone
is not enough to prevent osteoporosis.
Myth: If you are on an osteoporosis drug, you don’t need
to worry about getting enough calcium and vitamin D.
Fact: You may assume that the drug you are taking to
treat your osteoporosis has calcium and vitamin D in it
as well but that is not necessarily the case. The drugs
can help prevent bone loss, but they don’t give you the
raw materials - calcium and phosphorus - that make up
bone minerals. If the body doesn’t have that, the drugs
can’t help it. Be sure to eat a diet rich in calcium, even if
you are taking medication, and ask your physician about
osteoporosis drugs that include Vitamin D
Myth: If you have osteoporosis, it’s too late to do anything about it.
Fact: After being diagnosed with osteoporosis, some
people think they should just go home and give up. That
is a terrible mistake. One can do a lot to slow the disease and lower the risk of fracture. People with osteoporosis don’t have to sit at home and stare out the window.
Regular weight-bearing exercise has been shown to reduce the risk of fracture, both because it strengthens the
bones and because it can help you stay strong and agile
and avoid falls. Talk with your doctor about exercise that
you can safely do when you have osteoporosis.
Myth: You can’t tell if you have osteoporosis unless you
fall and break a bone.
Fact: A bone density test can give your doctor important
information about the strength of your bones and your
risk for fracturing a bone in the future. The bone densitometer uses small amounts of X-ray to measure the
amount of bone mineral and this relates directly to bone
strength.
Myth: A bone density test is painful and complicated.
Fact: This is a simple and comfortable exam. A bone
densitometer looks like a large, padded exam table and
measures bone density by using a small amount of radiation. You lie on your back, and a scanner passes over
your spine and hip area. The test is painless and takes
less than 10 minutes.
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