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. A curved spine called kyphosis, also known as a “dowager's hump.”
Compression fractures
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 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.
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.
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.
Differences. While arthritis can cause joint pain and swelling, osteoporosis is largely considered a “silent” disease until a fracture occurs. Treatment for osteoporosis focuses on increasing bone density, while treatment for arthritis aims to reduce pain and swelling while preserving the affected joints.
Eating foods that have a lot of salt (sodium) causes your body to lose calcium and can lead to bone loss. Try to limit the amount of processed foods, canned foods and salt added to the foods you eat each day. To learn if a food is high in sodium, look at the Nutrition Facts label.
Bone loss begins to occur at an approximate rate of 0.25% a year and is variable depending on many genetic and environmental factors. This may be considered the second stage towards osteopenia and/or osteoporosis. It is important to understand that this is a perfectly normal part of the aging process.
Severe (established) osteoporosis is defined as having a bone density that is more than 2.5 SD below the young adult mean with one or more past fractures due to osteoporosis.
Without appropriate treatment, osteoporosis can worsen. As bones get thinner and weaker, the risk of fracture increases. Symptoms of severe osteoporosis can include a fracture from a fall or even from a strong sneeze or cough. They can also include back or neck pain, or loss of height.
Osteoporosis is a bone disease that causes your bones to be weak and more likely to break. Organs affected by osteoporosis include the ovaries and thyroid gland.
Bisphosphonates are usually the first choice for osteoporosis treatment. These include: Alendronate (Fosamax), a weekly pill. Risedronate (Actonel), a weekly or monthly pill.
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.
Potassium-rich foods such as bananas, tomatoes and orange juice could help fight osteoporosis in post-menopausal women by helping to reduce the level of calcium losses, report researchers from the University of California San Francisco (UCSF).
Weight-bearing exercises, such as walking, jogging, and climbing stairs, can help you build strong bones and slow bone loss.
You can prevent bone loss with regular exercise, such as walking. If you have osteoporosis or fragile bones, regular brisk walking can help to keep your bones strong and reduce the risk of a fracture in the future.
The short answer is no, osteoporosis cannot be completely reversed and is not considered curable, but there are a number of health and lifestyle adjustments you can make to improve bone loss. Your provider may also prescribe you medications to help rebuild and slow down bone loss.
Vitamin D supplementation may decrease bone turnover and increase bone mineral density. Several randomized placebo-controlled trials with vitamin D and calcium showed a significant decrease in fracture incidence. However, very high doses of vitamin D once per year may have adverse effects.
Bone-strengthening program
An exercise program for osteoporosis should include four components: Weight-bearing exercises force your body to work against gravity, which helps to strengthen bones. Examples include walking, climbing stairs, playing tennis, and dancing.
The mean residual life expectancy of a 50-year-old man beginning osteoporosis treatment can be estimated at 18.2 years and the residual life expectancy of a 75-year-old man beginning treatment estimat- ed at 7.5 years. The corresponding estimates in women are 26.4 years and 13.5 years.
This is often just a result of aging, but can lead to considerable disability, especially when associated with back and hip fractures. However, osteoporosis does not usually cause pain unless you have a fracture. And it is unlikely that the leg pain you describe is from osteoporosis.
The diagnosis of osteoporosis/osteopaenia is not made on the basis of plain X-ray or CT appearances, but if the bones appear to be low in density, then the diagnosis can be suspected. For formal diagnosis of osteoporosis/osteopenia, duel-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA or DEXA) is required.