Let’s talk about Osteoporosis symptoms, its causes, and remedies. Has your posture or height changed? Here is some solution!
What is Osteoporosis?
Osteoporosis is a condition that means fragile bone, which makes the bone susceptible to fracture. In this condition, bones become brittle or have low bone mass. Osteoporotic bone is weak and is at a higher risk of fracture. The most commonly affected bones are the hip bone, vertebrae, and wrist. These bones show osteoporosis symptoms and their fracture can affect lifestyle. As you age, your bones too! Osteoporosis is a common condition in elderly people and it’s not just related to post-menopausal women but men also.
So, build up your bone health!
Causes of Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is a result of many underlying problems; it is a combination of age-linked disorders, genetic factors and bad lifestyle habits.
Youth is the time when your bone health is at its peak, as we get older the bone loses its calcium. Here is a list of causes that are responsible for osteoporosis symptoms:
-Menopause in women and estrogen levels greatly affect bone health and osteoporosis symptoms like weight loss, and changes in posture appear fast.
-Testosterone in males helps to keep bone healthy but lower levels can have an impact on bone and can lead to osteoporosis.
-Thyroid gland is one the most important glands as it plays a significant role in calcium levels in the blood.
-Long use of steroids can cause osteoporosis and fractures. Osteoporosis symptoms can be reduced by reducing drug usage.
-Less body mass or BMI below 19. This is an important cause of osteoporosis symptoms like low bone mass and fatigue.
-Your genes and parental history. Suppose if it runs in your family, you are most likely to get it. Genetic factors show osteoporosis symptoms a little early compared to other factors.
-Lifestyle habits like smoking, drinking, and eating disorders are common causes of osteoporosis symptoms.
-Hormonal imbalance may be due to other glands’ hyperactivity or hypoactivity.
Now the next step is to understand osteoporosis symptoms to diagnose and treat the condition.
Osteoporosis Symptoms
Do you know that even a cough can break your osteoporotic bone?
Are you not able to get up without support?
It’s an osteoporosis symptom. Your bones are weak and are not able to support properly.
Osteoporosis symptoms are not seen until you have a fracture! According to research, 20-25% of people die within one year of suffering a hip fracture. It is really important to maintain a good bone density during your youth. Since the condition is asymptomatic, the next question that hits our brain is how to diagnose the condition early?
The answer lies in understanding simple osteoporosis symptoms. Consult your orthopedist immediately when start observing the below-mentioned symptoms.
-Fatigue
is a common osteoporosis symptom that will occur to you quite often. This is due to the simple fact that your bone provides the basic framework for your body and once it gets weak it will lead to weakness in your complete body.
-Lower back pain
This is a significant sign among other osteoporosis symptoms. If there is a pain in your vertebrae, consult your orthopedist immediately.
-Decrease in height
Due to the loss of bone mass, there is a significant change in height and bone structure. As soon as you notice these changes, go visit your orthopedic.
Change in posture
It is usually very common and can be identified easily.
The early osteoporosis symptoms are fatigue, change in posture, and weight loss. Although this may be a sign of old age, one must not ignore them.
The time has come to deal with these symptoms by reading the next section on nutrition and exercise!
Upscale your nutrition
Think bone health as your saving, we all tend to save money for our old age similarly take a good diet to save your bone!
Calcium is a mineral which is essential in maintaining healthy bones and teeth.
So here is a list of food items that will upscale your nutrition game!
Low-fat dairy products
These include milk and curd which are rich in bone-building nutrients. So, let’s believe the old saying about milk and curd, to improve your bone health.
Fish liver oil
Rich in vitamin D and calcium, sardines are a surprising source of bone-strengthening nutrients. They are also packed with protein.
Leafy greens
Green veggies, such as collards, turnip greens, cabbage, broccoli, and spinach are rich in calcium and vitamin K. This increases bone cell formation and thus increases bone mass.
Pulses
Beans like rajma, are rich in calcium, magnesium, and fiber. Make sure to soak your beans before cooking to reduce phytate levels, as phytates can interfere with your body’s ability to absorb calcium.
Sunlight
Take a sunbath for 20-30mins to boost your vitamin D!
It is advised by doctors to take sun bath regularly as it provides natural vitamin D to boost your bone strength!
Others
-Break the nuts in the morning and this will give you a lot of magnesium.
-Add lemon to your water and some chia seeds. Chia seeds include magnesium whereas lemon helps in collagen formation.
-Change your snack time by adding proteins to your diet. Peanuts, roasted gram and hummus.
-Milk is a complete food and provides complete bone health. Bedtime milk intake can increase your protein, calcium, magnesium, zinc and vitamin.
-Drumsticks are rich in calcium and to your surprise even more than milk! You can make a powder out of it and consume it daily. Pregnant women can also consume the drumstick powder.
-Include 2 dried figs daily in your diet, this is very easy and helpful in increasing your calcium levels.
-Soya beans are rich in calcium if you are vegan or lactose intolerant to dairy products. Soya bean could be an amazing alternative to fulfill your calcium needs.
-Amaranth grain is another alternative for vegan people to fulfill their calcium requirements.
So it’s the time to change your bone game by upscaling your nutrition. Remember to start as early as possible and prevent osteoporosis symptoms!
Boost your Bone Strength
206 bones of our body provide a basic framework. To maintain and strengthen this basic framework, you need to sweat it out!
To Maintain a healthy bone that is free from osteoporosis symptoms, here is the list of exercises that you can do :
Weight-bearing exercises
-The key to weight-bearing exercises is the greater the impact on joints and bones, the better the strength. Weight-bearing exercises and asanas can pull the game. This includes walking, playing tennis, jogging, stair climbing etc. All of them mentioned are simple exercises that can be easily included in your lifestyle. These exercises work on the simple principle of working against gravity. This challenges your muscle and enhances bone strength, thus reducing osteoporosis symptoms and signs.
Dancing
Do you like to move your leg? Now do it on purpose to improve your bone health.
Biceps curl
This is an example of weight-bearing exercise. This will help you reduce other osteoporosis symptoms and will ensure better bone health.
Jogging
Yes, it’s easy! We see many celebrities running a marathon and this helps you maintain a healthy weight! Jogging can reduce osteoporosis symptoms and provide you relief in the longer term.
Treatment of Osteoporosis
It is important to know osteoporosis symptoms and the severity of the condition. The best person to help you is orthopedic. Your doctor can suggest the right treatment and help you recover better. Since osteoporosis symptoms are very rare to identify, you should take proper treatment.
Here is a list of treatments that orthopedics suggests:
Drugs
Generally, bisphosphonates are advised for osteoporosis patients. Apart from this hormonal treatments like testosterone and oestrogen therapy are also given by orthopedics.
Knee replacements and knee surgery
Most of the patients have a common question: Can I have knee replacement surgery?
Yes, it’s completely safe for most patients but still, consult your orthopedic for better guidance! The knee surgery depends on the condition and local needs of the patients. It is proven that knee replacement or knee surgery can relieve patients’ pain and improve their quality of life. Moreover, it is found that osteoporosis symptoms will not hamper your job!
The fact of the treatment is that you cannot completely reverse osteoporosis but changing your lifestyle and taking proper treatment from your orthopedic can improve your life.
Take away points
To conclude, a major key point one must pay attention to is that osteoporosis symptoms are rarely seen and noticed.
The osteoporosis symptoms are generally considered neutral until a fracture occurs. Treatment should be taken after proper consultation with an orthopaedic.
So it is advised to take proper diet in youth and build up on bone health!
