According to Dr. Sai Laxman Anne, Chief Consultant Orthopedic and Joint Replacement Surgeon, KIMS Hospitals, Kondapur, Osteoporosis is a medical condition where bones become brittle and weak. “Usually, bones do not show signs of fracture until there is a hard fall or accident of any sort. But with osteoporosis, people experience fractures with minor falls, sudden movements or bumps. Osteoporosis prevails with aging, causing fractures in most of the elder people,” he said.
“Research shows that in India, osteoporosis occurs 10-20 years earlier when compared to western countries. It is important to investigate the risk factors of osteoporosis which is an important strategy useful in forming an effective approach for managing the disease.”
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According to Dr. P. S Jaya Prasad, Consultant Orthopaedics, Kamineni Hospitals, it is estimated that globally, 1 in 3 women and 1 in 5 men aged 50 years suffer from an osteoporotic fracture which makes it one of the leading causes of long-term pain and disability in elderly people. Because of poor infrastructures, facility, lack of awareness, only 20 percent with osteoporosis are getting diagnosed. Any person who gets osteoporosis tends to lose bone density by 20 percent.
“To avoid such risks and increasing factors of this disease, organisations around the world come together with people to create awareness, take tests for early diagnosis and check for bone density. These lifestyle practices can help ensure healthy bones and prevent osteoporosis long term,” he said. Dr. SVL Narasimha Reddy, Orthopedic Surgeon, SLG Hospitals, believes that lifestyle modifications can help prevent the increase of osteoporosis along with intake of vitamins, use of pharmacologic agents.”Although there is no cure for osteoporosis, treatment can stop the loss of bone density and reduce the risk of fractures. But, diagnosis has to be started at early stages because once a person’s bone density is declined, it cannot be fully reversed. It is also important to prevent fractures as they may not fully heal in people with this disease.
This condition starts developing when a person starts to lose bone density faster resulting in a weak bone. Once this starts, it may not be possible to regrow the lost bone. Usually, people lose bone density over time and the bone reaches its peak at 25-30 years. Due to this reason, regaining bone density at older age becomes challenging.Whereas, when a young person has osteoporosis the bone can recover and allows the person to regain bone density,” said Reddy.
According to Dr. V. S Abhilash Kumar, Consultant Arthroplasty and Arthroscopy Surgeon, Amor Hospital, India ranks number 1 in the total number of osteoporosis cases. There are 1.5 million osteoporosis cases identified in men due to lack of calcium, genetics and other factors. People are slowly falling prey for this disease. In addition, there are few myths surrounding this disease. One such myth is that it is caused due to aging.
“Another myth is that bone density test is painful. It’s wrong, bone density test is not painful, it is a simple test that uses small amount of radiation or ultrasound when a person lies on their back and it approximately takes 10 minutes. Getting adequate sunshine, calcium and having simple 30-minute workouts everyday will help strengthen muscles.”
Source: IANS
