Baby Boomer Health – Osteoporosis

Welcome to this weeks edition of Baby Boomer Health – Osteoporosis

Show Notes:

Osteoporosis means porous bones.  They have low bone mass, poor quality bone and fragile bones.  This occurs mostly in older people.  This combination of older age and osteoporosis can result is serious falls, fractures and other health problems.

Bone remodeling is the process where osteoclasts reabsorb the bone and osteoblasts replace the reabsorbed bone.  This is going on all the time.  However in osteoporosis the osteoclasts reabsorb more bone then the osteoclasts can replace. 

Common fractures associated with osteoporosis are fractured hips and vertebral compression.  As the estrogen levels in women and men and the testosterone levels in men are reduced with menopause and age, men and women become vulnerable to osteoporosis.  The ratio of men to women with osteoporosis is about 1:4.

So as you get older particularly women, ask about your risk of osteoporosis.  There are treatments available but you must be diagnosed first. 

It's worth reducing the risk of serious fractures and pain, so ask your doctor about osteoporosis.