Osteoporosis

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On Monday I went to the doctor to get the results of various tests and I have now been diagnosed with Osteoporosis. Apparently I have 4 compression fractures in my lower back. (Not Happy)

The risk factors for Osteoporosis for those of you who don’t know much about it (like me for instance) are :

Being Female , Drinking Alcohol, Smoking, Bad Diet, Lack of Exercise, Early Menopause, Family History, Certain Medications, Lack of Calcium,

and Not Enough  Exposure to Sunlight.

I walk every day, eat a good diet, go to Pilates and Yoga, I am learning to play Golf, I don’t smoke or drink, and living in Australia I get plenty of sunshine. I am not on any medications, until now that is. Now I have to drink this yukky chalky stuff every night before I go to bed for the rest of my life.

To say I am annoyed is putting it mildly. I never thought that Osteoporosis would be something I had to worry about for all the above reasons.

Women are more prone than men to Osteoporosis. So ladies next time you go to the doctor ask him/her to send you for a Bone Density Scan. It could save you from some nasty accidents.

I copied this from the Osteoporosis Australia Website :

What is osteoporosis?

Osteoporosis is a condition in which the bones become fragile and brittle, leading to a higher risk of fractures (breaks or cracks) than in normal bone.
Osteoporosis occurs when bones lose minerals, such as calcium, more quickly than the body can replace them, leading to a loss of bone thickness (bone mass or density). As a result, bones become thinner and less dense, so that even a minor bump or accident can cause serious fractures. These are known as fragility or minimal trauma fractures.
Any bone can be affected by osteoporosis, but the most common sites are bones in the hip, spine, wrist, ribs, pelvis and upper arm. Osteoporosis usually has no signs or symptoms until a fracture happens – this is why osteoporosis is often called the ‘silent disease’.

Fractures due to osteoporosis (osteoporotic fractures) can lead to changes in posture (eg developing a stoop or Dowager’s hump in your back), muscle weakness, loss of height and bone deformity of the spine. Fractures can lead to chronic pain, disability, loss of independence and  premature death
Every 5-6 minutes, someone is admitted to an Australian hospital with an osteoporotic fracture. This is expected to rise to every 3 – 4 minutes by the year 2021, as the population ages and the number of osteoporotic fractures increase