Osteoporosis - what is it? The very concept of “osteoporosis” means nothing more than “porous bones”. And there is an explanation for this. The fact is that with osteoporosis, the bone structure becomes more fragile and thin.
The disease is most common in people who are sixty to seventy years old. Menopausal women suffer from it. If a person develops osteoporosis, then the probability of a fracture of bones due to their fragility increases sharply.
Causes of pathology
In the human body, age-related changes provoke a decrease in bone density. This process is considered natural. However, there are people in whom these changes occur much earlier and pass more intensively. There are some reasons that provoke osteoporosis. What are these factors? They fall into two categories. The first of them includes such reasons, the change of which a person can not influence. This is heredity and a thin weak skeleton, female gender and age exceeding 65 years. But there are reasons that can be excluded to the maximum to reduce the risk of osteoporosis. So, the development of pathology is promoted by the use of certain types of drugs. These include anticonvulsants and corticosteroids. Increases the risk of osteoporosis foods that are poor in vitamin D and calcium, as well as alcohol consumption, smoking and a lifestyle devoid of active movements.
Symptoms of pathology
There are certain signs that a person has osteoporosis. What are these symptoms? These are pain in the back, stoop and a decrease in growth, as well as spinal deformity.
Sometimes a person is completely unaware that he is sick with osteoporosis. The presence of pathology is revealed only with a fracture of the arm or leg. Of course, limb injuries can occur at a young age. However, with osteoporosis, the load from which the fracture occurs is much weaker.
Complications possible with pathology
Osteoporosis is often accompanied by frequent fractures, in which bone fusion is difficult and for a long period. A complication of the disease is expressed in obstructed movements. In this case, the appearance of external physical defects is possible.
Joint osteoporosis
Pathology often spreads to the tissues, as well as cartilage in the knee. If the joint has affected osteoporosis, what does this mean? This is a degenerative process covering the largest (knee) joints. It gradually destroys the cartilage. At the same time, the elastic and elastic properties of the knee joints are reduced. At the same time, deformation of the bones occurs in the legs, which causes the formation of spike growths.
The main manifestation of osteoporosis in this case is swelling in the knee. In this case, bending of the leg is difficult. The main causes of cartilage deformation are heredity, age and trauma.
Diagnosis of osteoporosis
To identify pathology, two methods are currently used. These include bone densitometry and radiography. The first method is the most optimal. It allows you to track places where the bone has the lowest density, that is, it can easily be injured. Using densitometry, the effectiveness of drugs is monitored and weight loss in the bones is determined. The method is absolutely safe and painless.