What is Osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is a condition in which there is a progressive decrease in the density of the bones, weakening the bones, and making bone fractures likely.
This is an age related condition just like heart disease; it sneaks on you as you get to age. Osteoporosis affects more than 25 million Americans both men and women but are more common to women.
Postmenstrual osteoporosis is most common type of osteoporosis and is the cause of most spinal, hip and also the cause of most wrist injuries to women.
Women’s bones are strongest when they are at 30 years of age. From then until menopause, women don’t lose much bone. But in the 5 to 7 years after menopause, women tend to lose 1 to 5 % of their bone mass per year. After that, bone loss is continuous but slowly which results to osteoporosis.
For women, menopause is the turning point in osteoporosis. The bones’ ability to incorporate calcium from blood depends on the hormone estrogen. But as a woman passes through menopause, there is less production of estrogen. The loss of estrogen results to the decrease of calcium absorption by the bone and as a result lesser bone density and brittleness.