Press Releases
Durham Regional Hospital Health Spot- Osteoporosis
May 14, 2008Durham, NC- May is National Osteoporosis Awareness and Prevention Month. According to the National Osteoporosis Foundation, 10 million Americans currently have osteoporosis and almost 34 million more are estimated to have low bone mass, making them at risk for the disease.
Osteoporosis is defined as a condition in which the bones become weak and can break from something minor like a fall or, in serious cases, from a simple action such as a sneeze, according to the National Osteoporosis Foundation.
According to Joe Minchew, MD, Orthopaedic Surgeon with North Carolina Orthopaedic Clinic and Durham Regional Hospital, there are many ways to prevent osteoporosis. "The best prevention for osteoporosis is for a person to obtain the highest peak bone mass that their genetics will allow them to obtain. Prevention begins in childhood and adolescence with peak bone mass occurring around the age of thirty. Therefore, the key to prevention is to have adequate calcium and Vitamin D intake and to participate in weight bearing exercise during growth and development." Minchew also suggests avoiding smoking and excessive intake of carbonated drinks, as these may inhibit bone mass acquisition. For people who have already passed the age of building bone mass, adequate calcium and Vitamin D intake as well as regular weight bearing exercise are the keys to minimizing the bone loss that occurs over time.
Some people are more at risk for developing osteoporosis than others. People of northern European descent have the greatest risk with Asian and Latinos also at higher risk than African Americans. According to Minchew, those with the highest risk for developing osteoporosis are those who have a history of the disease in their family. "A family history of osteoporosis, particularly in your parents and specifically maternal osteoporosis is a significant risk factor for women. Body habitus, which is also partially genetically controlled, is also a risk factor for people with low body weight. Late menarche and/or early menopause are also risk factors for women. Controllable risk factors include smoking, excessive caffeine, alcohol, or soft drink intake."
Women are more likely to develop osteoporosis than men. "This is because women develop a particular type of osteoporosis, postmenopausal osteoporosis," says Minchew. "Estrogen has an antiresorptive effect on bone. Therefore, in the early period following menopause, women experience accelerated bone loss. If the woman has relatively low bone density before menopause, then her bone density may fall below the fracture risk threshold and into a range considered osteoporotic during this period of rapid bone loss. After the first few years post-menopause, the rate of bone loss in women returns to the same gradual rate of loss that also affects men."
According to Minchew, the most common misconception concerning osteoporosis is that it only affects women. "Men can and do develop osteoporosis, it is just at a later age and is due to the progressive lone of bone mass that occurs with aging." This is called senile osteoporosis. Another misconception is that osteoporosis and osteoarthritis are somehow related. "While both occur with aging, the two problems involve entirely different issues. Osteoarthritis is the age related deterioration of joints, primarily due to deterioration of the cartilage. Having one condition does not necessarily mean that you have or will have the other." Finally, there seems to be a belief that patients with osteoporosis do not heal fractures normally. This is not true. "While they are at risk for fractures due to there decreased bone density and altered architecture, they have a normal fracture healing process. Unfortunately, the bone that they form to heal the fractures may also not be as strong as the bone of someone without osteoporosis."
Durham Regional Hospital offers many treatments for osteoporosis. Evaluation of bone mineral density is available through DEXA scanning, treatments for the sequelae of osteoporosis and stabilization procedures for vertebral fractures, including kyphoplasty and vertebroplasty, are all available at Durham Regional Hospital.
