Bone Loss and You - How to Handle Osteoporosis

If you have been diagnosed with osteoporosis, you're certainly not alone. Ten million Americans currently suffer from this disease, and 80% of those are women. It's something that one out of every two women will have to deal with in her lifetime. Just imagine a group of ten of your friends and know that the odds are that five of them will have osteoporosis.

There is a great deal of information available on osteoporosis, and new product development and research are being done to help prevent this disease. So what does that mean for you?

One of the most important steps you can take in living with osteoporosis is to be informed. Osteoporosis can take women by surprise, because there are very few symptoms in the early years. You can go decades without knowing that you have osteoporosis. In many cases, a diagnosis isn't made until a serious fracture occurs, which can be devastating.

As with most diseases, early detection is a key factor to managing osteoporosis. Bone density scans can be ordered by your doctor on a regular schedule. This way, you know if your bones are weakening over the years. If a loss of bone density is revealed, there are steps you can take to improve your condition.

There are many steps you can take to prevent osteoporosis from worsening. Simple changes in diet and nutrition can help slow or stop bone loss. Adding a calcium supplement as well as vitamin D daily is an important step.

Additionally, talk to your doctor about adding weight bearing exercise, as well as general fitness activities like walking or bike riding to your routine. If you have already suffered a fracture, you may benefit from physical therapy to improve your bone health.

If you smoke or drink excessively, you should consider the health risks involved in these activities. These both decrease the absorption of calcium, which can weaken bones.

There is a wide variety of treatment options for osteoporosis. These range from hormone replacement therapy, which is very effective for women who are menopausal, to other medications that can help slow or stop bone loss. Some medications are taken daily, while the newest types of drugs can be administered once a month or even once a year. There are certainly a number of choices to discuss with your health provider. Be sure to talk about the benefits of each, as well as possible side effects.

You can start tackling osteoporosis even before it starts. It's never too early to build strong bones and start living a healthy lifestyle. Knowing how to prevent and treat osteoporosis will help you maintain an active lifestyle and avoid life threatening falls and fractures later in life.