Numerous and severe compression fractures can cause serious medical problems' shortness of breath, protruding stomach, indigestion problems and stress incontinence because of a reduction in the available space for the internal organs.
PROTRUDING ABDOMEN The protruding abdomen which is a result of the kyphosis is an unrecognized aspect of osteoporosis. Women do not realize that the curvature of the spine decreases the abdominal space, and thus the intestines have nowhere to go except forwards.
IBD and other gastrointestinal diseases have been linked to osteoporosis, through nutritional factors (levels of calcium, vitamin D, and other minerals may not be as high as in those with no intestinal disorder), corticosteroid use over time, and the long-term inflammation.
Symptoms of Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is called a “silent” disease” because there are typically no symptoms until a bone is broken. Symptoms of vertebral (spine) fracture include severe back pain, loss of height, or spine malformations such as a stooped or hunched posture (kyphosis).
Osteoporotic bone breaks are most likely to occur in the hip, spine or wrist, but other bones can break too. 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.
Stage 4, or severe, osteoporosis is associated with significant pain, impaired mobility, and stooped posture. A person has stage 4 osteoporosis if their bone mineral density score is more than 2.5 standard deviations below the healthy average for a young adult and they have had at least one fracture.
Osteoporosis means that you have less bone mass and strength. The disease often develops without any symptoms or pain, and it is usually not discovered until the weakened bones cause painful fractures. Most of these are fractures of the hip, wrist and spine.
Bone fractures, particularly in the spine or hip, are the most serious complications of osteoporosis. Hip fractures often are caused by a fall and can result in disability and even an increased risk of death within the first year after the injury.
This excess risk is more pronounced in the first few years on treatment. The average life expectancy of osteoporosis patients is in excess of 15 years in women younger than 75 years and in men younger than 60 years, highlighting the importance of developing tools for long-term management.
Osteoporosis is a disease that causes weak, thinning bones. This leaves the bones at greater risk of breaking. The bones most often affected are the hips, spine, and wrists. Women are 4 times more likely to get osteoporosis than men because of a decrease in estrogen after menopause.
Although all bones can be affected by the disease, the bones of the spine, hip, and wrist are most likely to break.
Abdominal swelling, or distention, is more often caused by overeating than by a serious illness. This problem also can be caused by: Air swallowing (a nervous habit) Buildup of fluid in the abdomen (this can be a sign of a serious medical problem)
A distended abdomen is abnormally swollen outward. You can see and measure the difference, and sometimes you can feel it. A distended abdomen can be due to bloating from gas, or it can be due to accumulated fluid, tissue, or digestive contents. It can be chronic or acute.
There are several possible causes for your lower abdominal bulge. These could include: fat distribution, a hernia, weakening of the tissue between your rectus abdominus muscles (rectus diastasis) or an intra-abdominal mass.
In addition to managing your osteoporosis, it's important to avoid activities that may cause a fracture. Such activities include movements that involve twisting your spine, like swinging a golf club, or bending forward from the waist, like sit ups and toe touches.
Sudden, severe back pain that gets worse when you are standing or walking with some relief when you lie down. Trouble twisting or bending your body, and pain when you do. Loss of height.
Severe osteoporosis is currently defined by the threshold of bone density value below the -2.5 SDS of T-score, determined by dualenergy X-ray absorptiometry, and the presence of one or more fragility fractures.
Osteoporosis stage 4
Softer and weaker bones can show in the form of spinal deformities such as a bent-over appearance and pain with everyday activities. Most people at this stage have had one or more bone breaks or fractures.
Pain is not a symptom of osteoporosis in the absence of fractures. Following a fracture, bones tend to heal within six to eight weeks but pain and other physical problems, such as pain and tiredness or fatigue, may continue.
Abstract: In osteoporosis, the vertebral body deforms through fracture, causing low back pain at various levels. Osteoporosis with marked acute low back pain is rather infrequent, and in many cases, vertebral body deformation and loss of body height progress with almost no low back pain.
If you have osteoporosis, you may be at risk for tooth loss. When the jawbone becomes less dense tooth loss can occur. Women with osteoporosis tend to have fewer teeth than women with normal bone density.