Compression Fractures and Osteoporosis Pain It can cause: 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.
People with osteoporosis may not have any symptoms. Some may have pain in their bones and muscles, particularly in their back. Sometimes a collapsed vertebra may cause severe pain, decrease in height, or spinal deformity. The symptoms of osteoporosis may look like other bone disorders or health problems.
The bones that make up your spine (vertebrae) can weaken to the point that they crumple and collapse, which may result in back pain, lost height and a hunched posture. Bone fractures, particularly in the spine or hip, are the most serious complications of osteoporosis.
Osteoporosis is often referred to as a 'silent condition' and often a fracture is the first symptom that leads to investigation and diagnosis of the condition. Pain is not a symptom of osteoporosis in the absence of fractures.
Osteoporosis is not usually painful until a bone is broken, but broken bones in the spine are a common cause of long-term pain. Although a broken bone is often the first sign of osteoporosis, some older people develop the characteristic stooped (bent forward) posture.
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).
While OA is a degeneration of a joint, osteoporosis is the loss of BONE mass which causes risk of fractures, even spontaneously. Osteoporosis is PAINLESS and if you indeed have pain, let's say in your back, you could have both conditions.
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.
During the night, there is a drop in the stress hormone cortisol which has an anti-inflammatory response. There is less inflammation, less healing, so the damage to bone due to the above conditions accelerates in the night, with pain as the side-effect.
Stage 4. In this stage, your osteoporosis is very severe. Your risk of fractures is higher than in stage three, and you may actually have symptoms. The severe bone loss in stage 4 leads to changes in your spine, such as a stooped posture,and loss of height.
It's no secret that an osteoporosis-related hip or spinal fracture is painful, but they can cause even more significant long-term damage. Osteoporosis can lead to immobility, which means you may not be able to move as freely as you did before. Walking seems so simple—until you're not able to do it easily.
Osteoporosis often causes very painful fractures, which can take many months to heal. 1 In many cases, the pain starts to go away as the fracture heals. Most new fractures heal in approximately 3 months. 2 Pain that continues after that is generally considered chronic pain.
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.
Warning signs, risk factors and symptoms
There are, however, some 'red flags' to look out for and, if you're concerned, speak to a doctor about. These include severe ongoing back pain, your spine having become curved, and that you have lost height.
It's not clear why people with osteoporosis may experience fatigue, but it could be because your body is lacking in vitamin D. Vitamin D deficiency can contribute to both poor bone health and make you feel tired. Another connection may be between certain medications taken for osteoporosis.
At some point, usually around age 35, women start to lose bone. While some bone is lost each year, the rate of bone loss increases dramatically in the 5 to 10 years after menopause. Then, for several years, the breakdown of bone occurs at a much greater pace than the building of new bone.
If you have osteoporosis your bones are much more fragile than they should be, and are much weaker. Most people don't know they have osteoporosis until it causes them to break a bone. Osteoporosis can make any of your bones more likely to break, but the most commonly affected bones include your: Hips (hip fractures).
Men who began treatment at age 50 had a life expectancy of 18.2 years, while the life expectancy for a man beginning treatment at 75 was an average of 7.5 years. For women, the figure was 26.4 years for those beginning treatment at 50 and 13.5 years for those beginning treatment at 75.
People with osteoporosis are more likely to break bones, most often in the hip, forearm, wrist, and spine. While most broken bones are caused by falls, osteoporosis can weaken bones to the point that a break can occur more easily, for example by coughing or bumping into something.
Osteoporosis can cause painful and debilitating broken bones called fragility fractures. These fractures can compromise a person's ability to walk, cause deformities and loss of height, and significantly lower quality of life.
Bone pain usually feels deeper, sharper, and more intense than muscle pain. Muscle pain also feels more generalized throughout the body and tends to ease within a day or two, while bone pain is more focused and lasts longer. Bone pain is also less common than joint or muscle pain, and should always be taken seriously.