Osteoporosis symptoms

Osteoporosis symptoms

There are a lot of people who suffer from osteoporosis. Put simply, this is a bone disorder. Many individuals tend to confuse osteoporosis with arthritis. However, the fact of the matter is that these ailments are very different. What causes arthritis is completely different form that which causes osteoporosis. When it comes to osteoporosis symptoms, it is important to note that these symptoms are usually noticeable when the disease is already at its advanced stages.

What is osteoporosis?

This is a condition that affects the bones. What happens when you have this ailment is that your bones begin to get thinner. Because they become thinner, they will not be as strong as they were before. As a result chances of breaking are very high. That is why people who suffer from this condition are at risk of having fractures. The disadvantage of having this condition is that your bones can fracture as a result of normal everyday movements. Examples of such movements include bending and coughing. These are movements that we take all the time, but for someone with this ailment, there is a high risk of having a fracture.

Typical fractures happen in areas such as the spine, hip and wrist. People who suffer from osteoporosis do not have freedom of movement, especially those who are unfortunate enough to have hip fractures. If you have a hip fracture it means that you cannot move around just like everybody does. To add on to that, hip fractures are not easy to heal. This condition is more frequent in women than man. The reason why more women suffer from the ailment than men is the hormonal changes that are associated with menopause.

Common osteoporosis symptoms

A lot of people that have this ailment are not aware that they have it. This is because the symptoms come about at a later stage. They will only realise that they have the disease once they have had a fracture or they have taken a bone density test. However typical symptoms of this condition include:

• Loss of height – this can be an early sign that an individual suffers from osteoporosis. It comes about as a result of the curvature of the spine. When the spine bones weaken, the result is usually the compression or curvature of the spine.
• Back pain
• Curved upper back
• Fractures – these normally occur in areas like the wrist, spine and hip

The risk factors

There are certain factors that usually indicate if someone is at a higher risk of developing osteoporosis and as a result experience osteoporosis symptoms. You are at risk of developing this ailment if you are a woman, if you are above the age of 50 years or if you have a low calcium diet. You are also at risk if you smoke, if you are of Asian descent or if you lead an inactive life. Other risk factors include drinking a lot of alcohol, having an overactive thyroid and if you are postmenopausal to mention a few.