Osteoporosis: Causes And Remedies

Diseases of bones in women have become a major problem now-a-days. Previously, one out of every 10/12 women patients used to visit a doctor with problems of bones. And now this number has gone up to almost 5/6 times. But why? There are several reasons for that. One of the problems of bones with which most of the women go to a doctor is osteoporosis. At present, worldwide, 1 out of every 3 women going to a doctor with bone-problems, is suffering from osteoporosis.

Causes

Osteoporosis starts when the amount of the constituent of bones decreases or the density of the constituent decreases. Generally, women, who have crossed the age of 40-45 years, suffer from this problem. Sometimes, the symptoms of this disease cannot be observed from outside. One can know about the disease only when there is a fracture of bones in the spine or hip joint or wrist joint due to a minor injury and in the X-ray, reduced density of the bones from the normal value is noticed.

Due to osteoporosis the amount of calcium in the bones decreases, as a result of which the bones become brittle. So they can break even due to a very minor injury. We, generally, know that bones can break when one falls down or meets an accident. But even if none of the above happens, bones may break suddenly and silently due to osteoporosis.

The structure and strength of bones depend mainly on calcium, particularly, calcium phosphate, vitamin D and other constituents like magnesium, carbonate, fluoride, chloride, citrate, etc. Bones may decay due to lack of any one of these.All these ingredients reach our bones with the help of blood circulation. But in those regions where the blood circulation is less or the muscle function is low, there the density and strength of the bones decrease and this also may result in osteoporosis.

The strength of a bone does not depend only on the amount or density of its constituents, but also on the movement and activity of the muscles and joints around it. If a person loses his/her ability to walk or move or is having a plaster surrounding any part of the body for a long time, then also osteoporosis may occur due to reduced blood circulation resulting in lack of required ingredients of the bones in that region.

Another major reason for this disease, in case of women, is menopause. Because, during this time, a lack of the hormone estrogen occurs in the body. A function of this hormone is to deposit calcium, the most important constituent of bones. Lack of this hormone causes lack of calcium in an woman's body. This is why women are more prone to osteoporosis than the men. Those women, who suffer menopause before the age of 40 years due to hysterectomy or surgical elimination of the uterus or pre-matured menopause at an early age, may also develop the disease.

Why is this disease becoming so widespread?

There are several reasons for the widespread attack of this disease. Now-a-days, the food habit of the women is inviting the disease very easily. Insufficient intake of calcium-rich foods is responsible for this. In this context, it is important to know that the maximum deposition of calcium in the body takes place up to 30 years of age. So, during this time, it is essential to take calcium-rich foods like milk, curd, fish, vegetables, the white portion of egg, etc. It is to be remembered that once an woman crosses 30 years, no matter how much she eats calcium-rich foods, the deposition of calcium in the body takes place in low amount. Now-a-days, in an attempt to attain zero-figure, the teenagers draw several restrictions on foods. As a result, along with other important minerals, the storage of calcium also becomes low. Due to this, the possibility of osteoporosis increases with age. Apart from these, it is dangerous to work, standing or sitting in a particular posture, for a long time. Drinking of alcohol and smoking are also dangerous for this disease. Now-a-days, there are increased cases of hysterectomy or early menopause and hence, increased cases of osteoporosis also.

What to do?

All females should eat calcium-rich foods right from their childhood. One should keep away from alcohol and smoking. One should walk daily for at least half an hour. Idle lifestyle increases the possibility of this disease. Damp, congested environment favours prolonged and increased suffering. So it is important to avoid such environment.

It is seen that there is a common practice among women to buy calcium tablets from the medicine shops and take them without any medical advice. This practice should be avoided. It is prudent to have calcium tablets only on the advice of a doctor, otherwise not.

If osteoporosis has occurred due to lack of estrogen, then, consulting a doctor, one may go for estrogen replacement therapy.

Once the age of 40 is crossed, it is important to check the amount of calcium in the bones by doing Dexa Scan.

Nabarun Bhattacharya.

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