Osteoporosis: Invasion of bone sappers

Hi all, this is something good to share with all of you, this article from reader digest.

 

It is natural for your bones to weaken as you age. But some people, particularly women, lose so much bone matter that their skeletons become riddled with weak spots. Osteoporosis can cause debilitating hip, spine, and forearm fractures.

Estimated show that by 2050, about 50 % of all asteoporotic hip fractures in the world will occur in Asia. In Singapore for instance, the incidences of hip fracture in 1998 have gone up five times in women and 1.5 times in men compared to those observed in the 1960s.

Most people in the region are now living longer-thanks to the advancement of medical science. This simply means they are also getting older. "The vast majority of eldery people will have one or more osteoporotic spine fractures, "says Prof Tan Seang Beng, Senior Consultanct Orthopaedic Surgeon and Head of the Department of Orthopaedics at the Singapore General Hospital.

Asian are more prone to osteoporosis because of their lower bone density, low consumption of calcium-rich foods, a sedentary lifestyle and increase in alcohol comcumption and smoking. But despite this, osteoporosis is greatly underdiagnosed in the region.

Most don't visit a doctor until a person is suffering from a fracture. "Once one fracture has occurred, the rick for subsequent fracture is greatly increased, " warns Prof Tan. "People with severe spine fractures offen suffer fron chronic pain, they hunch when standing, have problems walking as they are off balanced, and occasionally, the fractures will result in nipping or pressure n the spinal nerves, leading to pain, aches, numbness or a pain and needles sensation affecting one or both legs.

Osteoporosis is not only under-diagnosed, it is also undertreated in Asia. in densely populated China and India for instance, fractures are often treated conservatively at home instead of by proper treatment in hospitals. "Ealy diagnosis is crucial to effective treatment," says Prof Tan. - source from Reader's Digest-