What is Osteoporosis?

A disease characterized by an overall decrease in bone density. This causes bones to break easily with minor impact.

Symptoms and signs of Osteoporosis?

It doesn't have clear symptoms so generally a person doesn't know that they have osteoporosis until they experience a broken bone. Fractures due to osteoporosis can cause prolonged pain, reduced motor function and even death.
50% of women and 33% of men will experience a broken bone due to Osteoporosis during their lifetime, this figure is much greater than Stroke, Heart Attack and Cancer. Fractures due to osteoporosis most often affect the spine, hip and wrist. Immediately consult a doctor if you feel your height is decreasing, your body posture becomes bent and you experience sudden back pain.

Prevent Osteoporosis?

Risk factors for Osteoporosis?

› Age over 50 years
› Women
› Menopause
› Family history
› Skinny
› History of fracture
› Consuming certain drugs (such as steroids)
› Have certain diseases (such as chronic kidney disease)

To diagnose Osteoporosis and assess the risk of fracture and the need for Osteoporosis treatment, your doctor will order a bone scan. This measures bone mineral density.

Bone Mineral Densitometry

Bone Mineral Densitometry (BMD) is a non-invasive examination with the Dual-Energy X-Ray Absoptiometry (DEXA) tool that uses minimal radiation to determine bone density so that it can diagnose Osteoporosis.

Physical activity is one of the main efforts to prevent osteoporosis and inhibit the worsening of ongoing disease. Here are the types of exercise:

1. Non-weight bearing aerobics, such as swimming and cycling.
2. Resistance exercises such as running and jumping (impact) can improve bone metabolism and prevent fractures.
3. Balance and proprioception exercise. Through the gait re-education process, posture can be improved resulting in a reduced risk of falls, improved functional capacity, dynamic balance, and quality of life compared to controls who performed these activities, especially in post-menopausal women.
4. Whole body vibration. Mechanical vibrations can help maintain bone microarchitecture, increase bone density, increase bone strength, and prevent bone loss.

Material by: PKRS (Hospital Health Promotion) Santo Borromeus Hospital