Risk factors of Osteoporosis
Age. The older you get, the higher your risk of osteoporosis. Your bones become weaker as you age.
Race. You’re at greatest risk of osteoporosis if you’re white or of Southeast Asian descent. Black and Hispanic men and women have a lower, but still significant, risk.

Sex. Osteoporosis is more common in women than men. Eighty percent, or four out of five, of the 10 million Americans who have it are women. There are several reasons for this. Women have lighter, thinner bones to begin with. They also lose loose bone rapidly after menopause.

The factors that may contribute to osteoporosis are not well defined. For example, studies by the U.S. National Institute of Child and Human Development (NICHD) have shown that irregular menstrual periods in young women may signal a hormonal shortage that could lead to osteoporosis.

Symptoms of Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is often called the “silent disease”, because bone loss occurs without symptoms. People may not know that they have osteoporosis until their bones become so weak that a sudden strain, bump, or fall causes a bone to fracture or a vertebra to collapse. However, there may be a chronic, dull pain particularly in the lower back or neck, which may become sharp later in the course of the disease.

Later in the course of the disease, sharp pains may come on suddenly. It may not radiate; it may be made worse by activity that puts weight on the area, may be tender, and generally begins to subside in 1 week. Pain may linger more than 3 months.

Treatment of Osteoporosis
Although osteoporosis has no cure, several types of medications are available to reduce the rate of bone loss, increase bone density, and reduce the number of fractures. In general, they work in two main ways: they lessen bone break down (anti-resorptive agents) or they stimulate the formation of new bone (anabolic agents).

Hormone therapy
Hormone therapy (HT) was once the mainstay of treatment for osteoporosis. But because of concerns about its safety and because other treatments are available, the role of hormone therapy in managing osteoporosis is changing. Most problems have been linked to certain oral types of HT, either taken in combination with progestin or alone.In addition, it is important to get enough vitamin D. A daily intake of 400 IU, but no more than 800 IU, each day is recommended. Obtaining adequate amounts of vitamin D from our food may be difficult. The main sources of dietary vitamin D are fortified milk (100 IU/cup), egg yolks (25 IU/yolk) and oily fish (vitamin D content varies).

The most important thing that you should keep in mind is that osteoporosis symptoms often remain hidden until it is too late. In a lot of situations, the first and only sign of osteoporosis is a bone fracture. This can happen to the wrist, hip or spine and can occur for numerous reasons. However, some people do experience some symptoms related to osteoporosis before this happens.

One of the main symptoms of osteoporosis is a change in the spine. This is what causes people who have osteoporosis to look shorter and bent over. While it is perfectly normal for height to slightly decline when people grow older, no more than one inch should be lost. If this does happen, it is a common symptom indicating a person may be experiencing osteoporosis.

Another one of the osteoporosis symptoms that you should watch out for is back pain. There is a strong possibility that this may be an indicator of a back fracture. Back pain also is known to occur when the body begins to curve over. If this is something that you have experiencing, it is best to visit your doctor to schedule a test for osteoporosis.

Note that osteoporosis is a condition that is more likely to affect you as you get older, and so if you are, say, over 50, you should be extra vigilant for observing for symptoms of osteoporosis. But it is also possible for younger people to experience osteoporosis too. So don’t assume that if you’re younger you are immune from osteoporosis symptoms, be prepared to be vigilant all of your life.

Keep in mind that there are a number of different ways to naturally prevent or treat the symptoms of osteoporosis. Although the amount of bone density that you lose cannot be entirely treated, the effects of osteoporosis can be reversed and further prevented. Some of the ways for this to happen include eating a well balanced diet, staying active and taking supplements for Calcium and Vitamin D.

Osteoporosis symptoms are not something to take lightly. This health condition is very serious and if you believe that you may have it, it is best to talk to a doctor about it. Determining the causes and finding a treatment option is very important to overcoming this degenerative health condition. If you begin to notice any symptoms of osteoporosis, you also may want to implement these natural prevention and treatment methods into your life.

And there are companies, one in particular, which are producing highly effective natural and organic treatments for osteoporosis, so if you’re experiencing some of the symptoms of osteoporosis then there are natural treatments available. It isn’t always necessary to turn to drugs.

Simply a sneezing, a tight hug, stepping, bending down to get something can cause Osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is also known by another name called “porous bone.” There are certain factors which are associated with Osteoporosis. These factors are termed as “Risk Factors.” Some of the factors are as mentioned below:

? Gender: Sex plays a major concern in the occurrence of Osteoporosis. Females have a more probability of being attacked with Osteoporosis than the male generation. Sometimes Osteoporosis is also related with menopause. Osteoporosis is estimated to have been attacking the women folk as and when they reach the stage of menopause. Thus when a woman reaches the age of around 45 years and when she is attacked with menopause that is when she experiences the stoppage of menstruation, the velocity of Osteoporosis is found to be more.

? Age: Age is yet another risk factor of Osteoporosis. The more a person advances in age, the more is the risk of being attacked with Osteoporosis. It is generally during the old age that the bones become very much weak and fragile and thus they are prone to get attacked with Osteoporosis.

? Body dimensions: Women with thin and lean body physique have more the chance of being attacked with Osteoporosis.

? Ethnicity: Ethnicity plays a major role in respect of Osteoporosis. Here we can state that Asian as well as the Caucasian women folk has a high risk of Osteoporosis then when compared to American, African and Latin women.

? Hereditary: Family history is also adversely related with Osteoporosis. Present generation whose fore-fathers suffered from Osteoporosis, has more risk of Osteoporosis.

Besides these, anorexia, certain medications, smoking of cigarette, excessive drinking of alcohol and also maintenance of a low lifetime diet with less amount of vitamin D and calcium also causes Osteoporosis.

As it is always said that prevention is better then cure, thus Osteoporosis can also be prevented by undertaking certain precautions in the early stage of one’s development. As the demand of calcium is found to be very high in the growing stage of one’s development, thus a good amount of calcium products should be undertaken from the early developmental stages. Inadequacy of calcium in one’s body has a greater prospect to be affected by Osteoporosis. So it is always advisable to undertake certain calcium products in one’s diet like yogurt, milk, cheese, ice cream, green and leafy vegetables, like broccoli, spinach etc, fish like salmon and sardines, dry fruits like almonds, juices and squash etc. Thus according to the different stages of one’s development right from the stage of infancy to old age, the intake of calcium should be adjusted accordingly in order to prevent Osteoporosis.