Osteoporosis: Innovative Treatments that Go Beyond Risky Drugs

Approximately 10 million people in the US have osteoporosis, and another 44 million are at risk for this bone condition. While the chances of developing osteoporosis increase with age, many younger individuals have it too, including both men and women. Here’s what you need to know about osteoporosis, including how it’s traditionally treated and what new therapies are available for the damage osteoporosis causes, including some your physician may not be familiar with.

Osteoporosis is the state of having weak or brittle bones. In extreme cases, your bones can become so fragile that they easily break with a simple misstep or coughing spell. Your bones are living tissue that replaces itself on a microscopic level every day. But when that stops happening, your bones become porous, thin, and susceptible to injury.

You may think osteoporosis only happens to women in menopause. While changing hormones do put women at risk of this condition, there are multiple other factors that can predispose someone to brittle bones:

• Being female, especially white or Asian
• Having low estrogen as a woman or low testosterone as a man
• Having a small frame
• Genetic predisposition or family history
• Sedentary lifestyle
• Smoking or consuming excess alcohol
• Low calcium intake
• Not having built bone mass as a child and teen
• Taking certain medications for chronic diseases
• Many health conditions that cause hormone imbalances, lack of activity, malabsorption of nutrients, or poor circulation, such as diabetes, IBS, cancer, and rheumatoid arthritis

If you meet any of the criteria above, you may be wondering if you have osteoporosis. Here are some of the signs you should watch for:

• Losing height
• Having a stooped posture
• Developing a curvature of the upper back called kyphosis
• Reduced grip strength
• Brittle or weak fingernails
• Breaking bones easily
• Neck or back pain from collapsed vertebrae or bone spurs
• Receding gums

You might think osteoporosis isn’t all that serious — at least not at first. However, many people only find out they have osteoporosis when they break a bone unexpectedly, which is why the condition is sometimes called a “silent disease.” A significant bone break like a fractured hip can result in surgery with serious risks, long hospital stays (with the potential to acquire a nosocomial infection), and even permanent disability. Your odds of dying one year after a hip break go up considerably.

Consider these statistics about osteoporosis:

• During their lifetimes, half of all women and one-quarter of men will break a bone due to osteoporosis.
• Osteoporosis is responsible for approximately 2 million fractures per year.
• If you’re a woman, your risk of breaking a bone due to osteoporosis is greater than your combined risk of ovarian, uterine, and breast cancer.
• It’s estimated that by 2025, osteoporosis will cause fractures totaling more than $25 billion.

The best way to treat osteoporosis is to prevent it in the first place. You want to get plenty of weight-bearing exercise, get enough calcium through your diet or a supplement, and avoid smoking and too much alcohol.

If you are at high risk for osteoporosis, your doctor may request a bone scan to see if you have this condition or osteopenia, a precursor to osteoporosis. Sometimes hormone replacement therapy is recommended, especially for menopausal women. We offer this treatment at Core Medical & Wellness as part of our holistic approach to our patients’ care.

Your doctor may also suggest taking one of several drugs on the market for osteoporosis, but these carry a long list of side effects and risks, which means they should be taken with great caution.