What Is Osteoporosis and What Causes It?

Osteoporosis is a condition that results in weak or brittle bones. When someone suffers from osteoporosis, their bones can become so fragile that a little fall or even coughing can cause fractures (breaks). These happen most commonly in the spine, hip, and wrist.
Your bones are actually living tissue that breaks down microscopically every day. When the loss of old bone exceeds the rate of bone replacement, osteoporosis occurs.
What causes this slowdown in your body’s bone production? Many of the elements of the lists below that show risk factors for osteoporosis point to the causes of the condition. One of the most common is hormonal changes, such as when women enter menopause, through natural aging, health problems that cause premature menopause, or surgical menopause after removal of the ovaries.
Other causes of hormone imbalances are malfunctioning endocrine glands, pregnancy, childbirth, cancer, birth control, and a hormone replacement program that isn’t working or needs to be updated.

Osteoporosis occurs most commonly in women, although men can have it too. Those at highest risk include:

• White and Asian women
• Women past menopause, especially early menopause
• Women with low estrogen
• Men with low testosterone
• Very thin people and those with small frames
• People with a family history of osteoporosis
• Sedentary women
• People who smoke and consume excess alcohol
• Women with a low calcium intake
• People on certain medications used to treat thyroid disorders, lupus, seizures, and asthma

Additionally, some health conditions can predispose people to osteoporosis due to hormone problems, lack of activity, poor circulation, and malabsorption of nutrients. These include:

• Diabetes
• Kidney disease
• Thyroid and parathyroid conditions
• Vitamin D deficiency
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• History of breast cancer
• Cystic fibrosis
• Sickle cell disease
• Dementia
• Inflammatory bowel disease (IBS) and celiac disease

There are multiple symptoms that most people with osteoporosis have in common:
• Progressive loss of height
• Stooped posture
• Kyphosis, a curvature of the upper back
• Breathing difficulties related to kyphosis or bent-over posture
• Weak or brittle fingernails
• Loss of grip strength
• Frequent bone breaks
• A fracture that occurs more easily than expected
• Back or neck pain stemming from collapsed or fractured vertebrae
• Receding gums

You may have one or two of these symptoms or many at the same time. Or you may not even know you have osteoporosis until you have an odd bone break. If you are at higher risk of osteoporosis, your doctor may recommend a bone scan or ultrasound of the heel, which are more definitive ways to diagnose the condition. It’s possible you have osteopenia, which is low bone mass – not osteoporosis yet, but you could be on the path to developing it.

It’s estimated that about half a billion people worldwide have osteoporosis. Not only does it affect their quality of life, but it also puts them at risk for other serious health problems. For example, osteoporosis is a prime cause of hip fractures in seniors. And people who undergo hip fracture surgery have a three to four times greater likelihood of dying than the general population, even one year after surgery, according to a recent study. This can be due to stroke, infections, heart failure, internal bleeding, complications of the fracture, and exacerbation of existing health conditions.

The best way to determine if hormone replacement is what you need is to schedule an initial appointment at Core Medical & Wellness. Together, we’ll look at your unique case and help plot a treatment plan that works safely for you. Call us today at 888-521-0688, or reach out online to let us know how we can help.