Addiscombe Osteopathic Practice

What is Osteoporosis?

The National Osteoporosis Society defines Osteoporosis as follows:

"Osteoporosis literally means 'porous bones'. Our bones are made up of a thick outer shell and a strong inner mesh which looks like a honeycomb made up of tiny struts of bone. Osteoporosis means some of these struts become thin or break making bones more fragile and prone to fracture. It often remains undetected until a bone is first broken, which commonly occurs in the wrists, hips and spinal bones."

Osteoporosis frequently has no symptoms until the bones break and is therefore know as the 'silent' disease'. It is about 4 times more common in women than men. Almost 1 in 2 women and 1 in 5 men over the age of 50 are affected. (200 000 fractures a year in the UK. If signs are caught early this is a preventable disease so screening is invaluable) Younger men and women can also be affected.

Bone is constantly being modified by two cells. One builds new bone and one breaks down old bone. At the beginning of our life the bone building cells are working harder to build a strong skeleton. Peak bone strength is believed to be around 30 years old. From our 40s the bone breaking cells overtake and our bones gradually lose their density as part of a natural ageing process. It is this bone loss that can lead to a broken bone because of osteoporosis. Research is still being done to fully understand exactly why this happens.