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Osteoporosis:
The Silent Crippler
Much
like hypertension, osteoporosis is a "silent"
disease, usually without symptoms until fractures
occur - most often involving the spine, hip or
wrist. Simply stated, osteoporosis is a thinning
and weakening of the bones that happens to all
of us as we get older. If this deterioration in
our bones goes untreated, our skeleton eventually
will become extremely fragile, and some bones
will be likely to break - or fracture - with very
little trauma.
Although the process
of bones loss begins gradually when we are in
our mid to late thirties, it is so slow that it
may take many years before we become aware of
it. Women, generally, are at greater risk of developing
osteoporosis than men. This is because, following
the menopause, women experience a rapid loss of
bone from the skeleton due to the decrease in
estrogen production.
Who are
at Risk?
It is a fact of life that, as we grow older, our
bones become thinner and weaker. In theory, therefore,
we are all at risk of developing osteoporosis.
Certain factors may accelerate this process, however,
and it is important that we become aware of them.
Menopause.
Women are at greater risk of developing osteoporosis
than men. Of course, this does not mean that every
woman will get osteoporosis, simply that osteoporosis
occurs with greater frequency in women. After
the menopause, the ovaries stop producing the
female hormone, estrogen. Estrogen is important
for maintaining bone strength. Without estrogen,
bone loses calcium - one of its most important
components. If you have had a particularly early
menopause (before the age of 45, for example),
your bones will have lost the important benefits
of estrogen much earlier than usual, and it is
likely that you are at an increased risk of developing
osteoporosis.
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