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What is Osteoporosis?
Osteoporosis means “porous bone” and is a disease where bones lose density and become weak. As a result, the risk of fracture increases.
A precursor to osteoporosis is osteopenia, which means “bone deficiency.” Osteopenia is low bone density that is not severe enough to be osteoporosis.
If untreated, osteopenia will become osteoporosis.
How Bone Density Works
Our bones are living, growing tissues that are being broken down and replaced throughout our lives. The constant replacement of bone tissue is meant to keep our bones dense and strong.
When we are young, our body adds new material faster than it removes old material. Because of this, bones remain strong.
Around the age of 35, the removal of old bone begins to outpace the addition of new bone. So, bone density begins to decrease.
According to The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, approximately 30 million women and 10 million men in the U.S. over age 50 have osteoporosis or osteopenia.7
The Risks Associated with Osteoporosis
When your bone density decreases, the strength of your bones decreases. The risk of a bone fracture thus increases.
According to the National Osteoporosis Foundation (NOF), one in two women and one in four men over the age of 50 will break a bone because of osteoporosis.8
The NOF also states that a woman’s risk of fracture is equal to her combined risk of heart attack, stroke and cancer.8 A man’s risk of breaking a bone is greater than his risk of prostate cancer.8
Osteoporosis fractures are most likely to occur in the hip, spine or wrist as a result of falling.
Luckily, there are steps we can take to increase bone density and improve balance in order to decrease fractures!
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