FAQs About Osteoporosis
Can osteoporosis be prevented?
Osteoporosis prevention is possible. The best way to guard against the disease is to take care of your bones while you are young. This means getting regular exercise – particularly that which places weight on the bones of the legs; consuming a diet rich in calcium; maintaining a healthy weight; avoiding (if possible) medications that lead to bone loss; and not smoking. All of these will help you increase your peak bone mass, so you’ll have more bone in the bank when the inevitable loss begins.
If you have already achieved peak bone mass, or if you are at the stage where you are losing bone mass, these same measures can also help you maintain bone or slow the decline.
If you are a woman past menopause, or if you take corticosteroids, it’s important to ask your doctor about a bone mineral density test called dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). If testing reveals your bones are thinning, your doctor may recommend that you take a medication to prevent osteoporosis. In many cases, these are the same medications used to treat osteoporosis. (See “How Is Osteoporosis Treated?” below.)
How is osteoporosis diagnosed?
Osteoporosis doesn’t have symptoms. Most people who have osteoporosis never know they have it until they break a bone. By that time, the disease is advanced and treating it is more difficult. More fractures and further problems are likely to occur.
Diagnosing osteoporosis begins with a medical history and a physical exam. Your doctor will ask questions to better understand your risk, measure you to see if you are getting shorter and examine your spine to see if it is curving forward (both signs of osteoporosis in the spine, one of the most common sites of the diseaseIf you have risk factors or signs of osteoporosis, your doctor will order tests to measure your bone density. There are many types of bone density tests that determine the density of different bones in the body – the hip, finger, wrist, spine, heel, shinbone or kneecap. A bone density test is the only definitive way to diagnose osteoporosis.
