Introduction

Osteoporosis is a disease characterized by low bone mass and deterioration of the bone tissue. This process of bone thinning leads to an increase in bone fragility and the consequent risk of fracture.

The hip, spine and wrists are the most common areas of osteoporosis-related bone fractures, though these can actually occur almost anywhere in the skeleton.

Osteoporosis runs a major risk of passing by undiagnosed as it can progress painlessly until a bone actually breaks. In fact, due to this, osteoporosis is often referred to as the ‘silent thief’, lacking any obvious signs of onset.

Incidence and Prevalence

Research indicates that women over the age of 50 are four times likely to develop osteoporosis as compared to men. On the other hand, one in eight men over 50 is vulnerable to this disease.

Studies also reveal that a whopping 1.4 million Canadians suffer from osteoporosis. Survey figures reveal that there were approximately 25,000 hip fractures in Canada in 1993, with seventy percent of them being osteoporosis-related.

Prevention of Osteoporosis

There are certain measures that can be adopted to prevent osteoporosis. Here we briefly explain a few of them:

A) Exercise and Lifestyle
Maintaining a daily regimen of exercises including walking and aerobic activity can go a long way in strengthening bones. Besides, smoking and alcohol consumption should be kept within limits to prevent osteoporosis.

B) Diet
A diet rich in calcium is essential throughout life for healthy bones and preventing osteoporosis. Per day, consumption of a minimum 800mg of calcium is recommended for adults to fulfill the nutritional requirements.

For those with a poor dietary intake, additional calcium supplements are indicated.

Besides, diagnostic measures such as the bone density scans such as our DEXA scanner //link to DEXA scan page// have also proven to be quite result-oriented in recent years.