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I formed the "Osteoporosis Clinic of the Finger Lakes" in the mid 1980s. Also being osteoporotic myself, I thought it was important to educate the public about this most common disease.
The most common condition in medicine is osteoporosis. It means weak or porous bones which can not only lead to fractures by the loss of the statue, loss of balance, depression and even death.
Forty million Americans are affected with osteoporosis, one-third being men and two-thirds being women. It is increasing at an alarming rate, doubling every 20 years. It is increasing rapidly because of poor nutrition, processed and fast foods, lack of exercise and lack of essential vitamins and mineral intake.
One in every two women and one in every one of the four men are not only diagnosed with this condition, but also a broken bone. Most women die as a result of complications of a hip or back fracture than breast cancer. This makes it a very important disease.
Even though women are more likely to develop osteoporosis, because of the loss of estrogen through menopause 10 years earlier than men, men are also affected. One of the most common types of hip fractures in the world, even though the surgery was successful.
The most common fracture that occurs as a result of osteoporosis is the spine and most often silent and treated to "sprain." The other major fractures are of the wrist and hip.
Osteoporosis, is our decaying infrastructure, our skeleton. Our skeleton is replaced every 10 years and therefore the proper building elements are needed. Our bones are built up to the late 30s or early 40s when they start to decline. Therefore it is important to make sure that you have vitamin D, calcium and magnesium.
We are a nation of deficiencies, lacking vitamins and minerals in our diet and exercise.
How often has your doctor discussed this disease? 15 percent of doctors report this problem to their patients. This is because they are busy treating other conditions such as blood pressure, heart disease, cholesterol, diabetes, etc. Osteoporosis therefore falls by the wayside until this cycle is broken by a fracture. It has been shown that the fracture has failed the underlying cause, osteoporosis, is again forgotten.
Hopefully, with the patient's awareness of osteoporosis, a combined effort between the patient and their doctor, osteoporosis will result in delaying the onset and consequences of this most common disease.
Each month I will attempt to educate you, the reader, by introducing you to the cause, how to diagnose this disease, questions to ask your doctor, diet and supplemental suggestions, exercise, other medical conditions that affect this disease, medications used to treat , and what if hospitalization for a fracture occurs.
These articles are designed for self-treatment and are one of the most important tools you can take to keep this disease under control.
Some of the bullet points so far are:
• The most common and undiagnosed disease in medicine today
• Silent and unrecognized until a fracture occurs
• 40 million Americans affected, two-thirds women, one-third men
• Osteoporosis is increasing at an alarming rate
• More women die from complications of osteoporosis, as a result of fractures, than breast cancer
• Disease usually not mentioned by your doctor
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