Osteoporosis is more common in women. It affects almost 20% (1 in 5) of women aged 50 and over and almost 5% (1 in 20) of men aged 50 and over. Many people with osteoporosis do not know they have it until they break a bone.
Osteoporosis affects men and women of all races. But white and Asian women, especially older women who are past menopause, are at highest risk. Medications, healthy diet and weight-bearing exercise can help prevent bone loss or strengthen already weak bones.
The condition is 4 times as likely in women than men. Women's lighter, thinner bones and longer life spans are part of the reason they have a higher risk. Men can get osteoporosis, too -- it's just less common.
Osteoporosis causes bones to become weaker and more fragile. Some people are more at risk than others. Bones are thickest and strongest in your early adult life until your late 20s. You gradually start losing bone from around the age of 35.
We know from long term studies that high intensity, high frequency exercise will play a significant role in bone preservation and formation. Intense weight bearing over time can reverse osteoporosis.
The main cause of osteoporosis is bone loss due to a drop in your body's estrogen levels. Estrogen is a hormone that helps build and maintain your bones. The most common cause of estrogen loss in women is menopause.
Using the WHO definition of osteoporosis, the prevalence in the US of osteoporosis in Caucasian postmenopausal women based on the lowest bone mass at any site is estimated to be 14% of women aged 50-59 years, 22% of women aged 60-69 years, 39% women aged 70-79 years, and 70% women aged 80 years or greater(ref 3).
How common is osteoporosis? Over 1 million Australians have osteoporosis. In those aged 50 years and over 66% have osteoporosis or osteopenia. There are over 173,000 broken bones each year due to poor bone health.
The first stage in osteoporosis occurs when your bone loss and bone formation occur at the same rate, meaning you no longer make more bone than you're losing. At this stage, there are no symptoms, and your bone density scores are above -1.
Thin people and those with small frames are more likely to develop osteoporosis. But being overweight puts women at risk for other serious medical conditions, including type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and coronary artery disease (CAD).
Lifestyle behaviors that increase osteoporosis risk include: calcium and/or vitamin D deficiency; little or no exercise, especially weight-bearing exercise; alcohol abuse; cigarette smoking.
Weight-bearing aerobic activities
Examples include walking, dancing, low-impact aerobics, elliptical training machines, stair climbing and gardening. These types of exercise work directly on the bones in your legs, hips and lower spine to slow mineral loss.
When stress becomes chronic, our diets cannot replace the calcium depletion fast enough so our bones are constantly being leached of calcium, leading to potentially more porous bones, brittle bones and osteoporosis.
Eating foods that have a lot of salt (sodium) causes your body to lose calcium and can lead to bone loss. Try to limit the amount of processed foods, canned foods and salt added to the foods you eat each day. To learn if a food is high in sodium, look at the Nutrition Facts label.
These studies suggest that alterations in catecholamines due to chronic stress may impact bone health and contribute to risk and severity of osteoporosis.
You can prevent bone loss with regular exercise, such as walking. If you have osteoporosis or fragile bones, regular brisk walking can help to keep your bones strong and reduce the risk of a fracture in the future.
The short answer is no, osteoporosis cannot be completely reversed and is not considered curable, but there are a number of health and lifestyle adjustments you can make to improve bone loss. Your provider may also prescribe you medications to help rebuild and slow down bone loss.
You can reverse the loss of bone density with medical therapies that may slow, maintain, or even increase your bone density. Your doctor may recommend taking certain medications to prevent or treat bone loss, and some may even help you rebuild bone density.
Osteoporosis is Serious
In addition to causing permanent pain, osteoporosis causes some patients to lose height. When osteoporosis affects vertebrae, or the bones of the spine, it often leads to a stooped or hunched posture. Osteoporosis may limit mobility, which often leads to feelings of isolation or depression.