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Causes of Osteoporosis (OP)There is nothing mysterious about the causes of Osteoporosis. Mostly it is well known, and well researched. What is controversial is what to do about it. Why then, one may ask, is OP so prevalent and such a cause of misery? Could it be that in the Symptoms of Osteoporosis we may find the key to this brooding question? The answer is yes. Like many serious diseases, there are few or no symptoms until it is too late. Only this one doesn't kill it's victims. It just makes them supremely miserable. "I shall be telling this with a sigh somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I - I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference." - Robert Frost You needn't be unduly anxious about chiropractic treatment if you have OP. Your chiropractor will adjust his technique as you get older. Whilst a broken rib from a chiropractic adjustment can and does happen (I confess to three in thirty years), it is a rare occurence, and should not deter you from the benefits of having a painful subluxated rib adjusted. I adjust elderly women every single day, always with the causes of osteoporosis in mind. Both by modifying my technique, and in encouraging particularly women to make the right changes in lifestyle timeously. Because, by the time it's diagnosed, it's usually too late to do much about it.
What is Osteoporosis?Osteoporosis occurs when the bone density drops alarmingly with a resultant increase in the risk of bone fracture.Since it is a silent, progressive disease, it invariably catches women by surprise. “Not for a second did I suspect that I... why didn't someone warn me about the causes of osteoporosis?” cry many indignantly. They should have suspected, because every woman should presume she is will have osteopenia (lowered bone density which is quite normal in the older woman) and perhaps osteoporosis until it has been proved otherwise. The controversial part is when and why does osteopenia (normal) progress to osteoporosis (definitely not normal, and a prelude to fracture). Not that we should become neurotic about our state of health, but when it comes to high risk disease, it’s worth being abreast of the facts. There are four more common causes of Osteoporosis (OP).
1. Lifestyle causes of OsteoporosisThe causes of osteoporosis are mainly about lifestyle. Why is it so important? Because it will certainly affect your quality of life. Brittle bone disease means pain, and it means limited mobility. Ultimately, an early reliance on the walker and wheelchair.Because every woman should assume she is going to have brittle bones to one degree or another, it's not something we can brush aside and ignore. Well, having said that, many women do ignore it, thinking that it's only when you reach 60 or 70 that you should be changing your way of life. By then, the worst of the damage is already done. We can brush it aside, but it may have awesome consequences. ChildrenPeak bone mass is reached around twenty years of age. If your child does not reach an adequate peak, she is already preprogrammed for OP. In the United Kingdom now, women are breaking their hips before fifty years of age!Since the arrival of junk food, and teen drinking and smoking, and so-called progressive governments who thought that limiting school exercise programs would save money and reduce taxes, or worse still enable them to divert more money to their armaments programs, the incidence of osteoporosis has increased alarmingly. Guns before butter, lower taxes before a proper education, including sporting activity. Rather, challenge your MP to think about the causes of osteoporosis.
It's always nice to get a testimonial! "Thank you so much for helping humanity become healthier, happier and to smile more, much more." Lydia Calcium supplements and DrugsWhat remains controversial is how much calcium we should be taking and in what form, and the part played by drugs such as Fosamax which may have serious side-effects. If the calcium is not absorbable, then it will pass straight through the gut and, if there is no demand from the bones for more calcium, then it's also not utilized. Cells are rebuilt every three months so, with good material to build from (good diet) and a healthy exercise program, you can build stronger bones.So first and foremost the calcium must be in an absorbable form (talk to your pharmacist, often hypoxyapetite and citrates are used) and secondly women should exercise regularly so that their bones will demand more calcium. Calcium is required to support bone growth, bone healing and maintain bone strength and is one aspect of the treatment of osteopenia. It is known that some groups of people with very low calcium intake still have very strong bones, and that others on high calcium (and high protein) diets, especially from dairy products still have brittle bone disease. So the whole subject of the causes of osteoporosis remains difficult and controversial, but what is known is that a twenty minute walk in the sun at lunch time, apple in hand rather than a high protein sandwich, with a hat! on your head to keep the skin cancer at bay, will go a long way in preventing brittle bone disease. It's also known that people who walk have much better balance, and don't fall nearly as much. Falls mean broken bones. However, the attempts by certain unscrupulous drug companies, at the stroke of a pen, to turn nearly half the female population into fearful drug takers, should be fiercely resisted. Such sleight of hand to grossly up their profits is obscene. For more authoritative information,
click here.
So, in ages hence, what will your child be saying with a sigh? "Thank God, Mom taught me good eating habits, and Dad introduced me to the joy of walking, or ...?" More about Lifestyle.Secondly, considering lifestyle, it's now been adequately proved that both alcoholism (more than two (women) and three (men) drinks a day, every day) and smoking are serious causes of osteoporosis that will turn normal osteopenia into pathological OP.Like all diseases these factors are additive. Smoking means less oxygen for the tissues, so most smokers are unable to walk as far. They tire quickly and consequently don't like walking. If it's combined with alcohol abuse and oft associated poor diet, then you are programmed for misery. For more about the benefits of walking, click here. 2. Post-menopausal causes of osteoporosis.After menopause there is a drop in circulating estrogen, the major cause of osteopenia. However this should not be considered pathological. It's quite normal, and happens to every woman, and some men. And by no means does every woman fracture a hip!May I say it again: Post-menopausal osteopenia is quite normal. It is definitely not a time to start swallowing hormone tablets - we know that they are a major cause of cancer of the breast and uterus, and some forms of stroke. But it is time to consider certain other changes that we will summarise at the end of this chiropractic webpage. Men can get it too!
3. Steroid medicationCortisone treatment is known to be one of the causes of osteoporosis as it shuts down your own adrenal glands.The problem however is that in certain auto-immune diseases, and allergic diseases such as asthma, it simply can't be avoided. Given the choice between dying in an asthmatic attack or taking cortisone, it's quite clear what the correct decision is. Where we as chiropractors disagree profoundly with modern medicine is the free use of cortisone for joint pain. One or two injections probably will not have a serious affect on your bones (though they do weaken tendons that may rupture, as in a rotator cuff syndrome) but the prescription of glucocorticoids for long periods of time for joint pain we consider scandalous - if other conservative treatment has not been fully explored. "Write only what you love, and love what you write." - Ray Bradbury 4. Parathyroid deficiency as a cause of osteoporosisThe Parathyroid gland regulates calcium concentrations in the fluids in the body. These calcium ions are are very tightly controlled by the body for normal muscle, nerve, kidney ... function and, in the absence of PTH, calcium ion concentration drops, and the body starts to rob the bones for calcium. Robbing Peter to pay Paul.For more information about this complex condition, click here. 5. Coeliac DiseaseIf you suffer from chronic diarrhoea, a malabsorption syndrome caused by an adverse reaction of the body to gluten, the protein in wheat, barley and rye, should be considered. It's called Coeliac Disease.Exhaustive tests are not necessary. All that is required is to go off ALL gluten products for at least a month, and see what effect it has. Researchers who placed patients with coeliac disease on a gluten-free diet found that it led to an improvement in both their diarrhoea and their bone density levels. This is because the inflammation of Coeliac Disease leads to atrophy of the villae, small finger-like projections responsible for absortion of nutrients like calcium, in the gut. It is estimated that about 10% of the population suffer from Coeliac Disease, mostly undiagnosed.
Symptoms of OsteoporosisEarly osteoporosis has absolutely no symptoms. It’s one of those silent diseases that creep up on us. Hence it’s best for women to assume that they will get it, without becoming overly neurotic. Chiropractic management of the disease is all about prevention, and except in rare extreme cases without the use of drugs.The first symptom is often when an older person bends over and lifts something like a bucket of water. Bingo, sharp, disabling pain in the lower-mid back. Your chiropractor will always start with an x-ray. Manipulation obviously is contra-indicated. Another first sign is a minor fall which fractures a wrist or hip. Instantly, the healthy, independent, pain-free person is faced with massive pain, loss of independence and a potentially bleak future. Whilst the fracture usually heals, perhaps with the help of pin or plate, further fractures are in the pipeline. This is especially true in smokers – the bone is less likely, and at the very least, will take longer to heal due to lack of oxygen. Fractures in the spine result in an increased curve and, if it’s quite high in the back, a dowager’s hump. In the low back it is extremely disabling and painful. Unlike most fractures, your chiropractor will by reluctant to suggest the normal six weeks of rest that a fracture requires – this will further complicate the existing osteoporosis. You sit between the devil and the deep blue sea! A corset helps. Whilst not wanting to over-emphasize the drama that occurs at the sudden loss of independence and severe pain in an otherwise healthy and fit person, this really does happen, and the time to do something about it is long before the drama starts. In fact, it starts with teaching your child to eat correctly and to exercise regularly. At the same time you will greatly decrease the likelihood of developing the dread disease yourself. That’s now! Today, go for a walk! ExerciseProbably the most important and effective thing you can do to ward off osteoporosis, is to take a daily walk. In the sunshine, with a hat!The vibration and shocks that rock your bones are what create the demand for calcium. The usual recommendations are twenty EXTRA minutes every day. Or could you do an hour, three times a week? There is a simple little test, called the Kasch Pulse-recovery Test (don't get put off by the name), that will give you a pretty shrewd idea of where you rate in terms of cardio-vascular fitness. It only takes three minutes, and a 12 inch step. If you rate poorly, go for shorter walks more often, to begin with. If you rate well, you could go for longer, but less often. This may suit the lifestyle of many working women, and the sun doesn't shine every day. It also means you can visit more interesting places. Thinking about the causes of osteoporosis doens't have to be all bad. Turn it to your overall benefit. Take this little test. Every tried Geo-caching? A wonderful way to see new places.
Which road will you take? You can be sure it will make all the difference.
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