Reducing Your Risk For Osteoporosis

What Is Osteoporosis?

Osteoporosis is no longer a disease that only affects older adults. Today, about 15 percent of healthy women in their 30’s suffer from osteopenia, which is a condition that can be the first step in developing osteoporosis. More than half of all adults over the age of 50 will get osteoporosis. Therefore, it’s important that you know the facts and how to reduce your risk of getting osteoporosis.

Bones are the framework of your body. The higher the density of your bones, the stronger are the bones.

During childhood until you reach about 20 years of age, your bones continue to grow in both size and density. Since most of your bone growth is done during these years, it is important that your diet and activities are maximized to help to build your bones.

The amount of bone mass keeps growing until you reach about 30 years of age. At that point, your bones have probably reached the maximum strength and density for your life span. If you are a woman, there is minimal change until you reach menopause.

Men normally reach their peak bone density around age 20. Although they may have a greater bone density, men also loose bone mass density beginning in their mid-30’s.

Osteopenia refers to bone density that is lower than normal, but not low enough to be classified as osteoporosis. If you have osteopenia, you have a greater risk of developing osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is the weakening of bone that occurs as you get older. Bones get thinner as you age and become weaker. This combination means that the likelihood of breaking a bone increases as you age.

What Are The Symptoms?

You may not feel any different or have any symptoms until you break a bone. Broken bones are the most common problem for individuals with osteoporosis.

Bones in your spine or vertebrae also thin as we age. Over time, the vertebrae collapse on themselves one at a time. This causes loss of height, back pain and a stooping posture. You may also experience backaches or a gradual loss of height with or without a stooping posture.

Diagnosing Osteoporosis

Sometimes your physician can see the signs of osteoporosis when you have an X-ray taken for some other condition or medical problem. Bone loss can also be detected when you have dental X-rays taken. Your medical history or symptoms may lead to a physical examination, X-rays or blood tests.

If you are in a high-risk category, your physician may order a bone density test. This test usually focuses on your hip and spine. Although osteoporosis can happen any where in your body, the measurements of bone mass density at your hip and spine can help predict fractures at those sites as well as elsewhere in your body. This test takes about 20 minutes to complete. In addition, your physician may perform blood and urine tests that will help screen for osteoporosis or help determine how far the disease has progressed.

Your Service Benefit Plan coverage provides benefits for bone density tests under both Standard and Basic Option. For more information, check out Section 5(a) in the 2008 Service Benefit Plan brochure.

Know Your Risk Factors

All women are at risk of getting osteoporosis. There are some personal characteristics and behaviors that can increase your risk:

• Not getting enough calcium and Vitamin D in your diet adds to your risk of developing osteoporosis.

• If you have ever broken a bone of any kind, your risk increases.

• Are you small boned and thin? If so, you are also at risk for developing osteoporosis.

• If you have a family history of osteoporosis, your risk increases.

• Low levels of estrogen, like that which occurs during menopause, can cause bones to weaken. In addition, if you have had your ovaries, which produce estrogen, removed, you are at a greater risk.

• Smoking increases your risk.

• Are you physically active? Individuals who are not physically active are at a greater risk of developing osteoporosis as they age.

• If you have had a serious illness that required long periods of bed rest, your risk increases.

• Do you take antacids? Aluminum hydroxide is an ingredient in some antacids used to treat heartburn and ulcers. This ingredient also increases the risk of developing osteoporosis.

• You may also increase your risk if you have taken certain types of medications for seizures, arthritis, asthma or cancer. You should discuss this with your physician.

You can take a personal osteoporosis risk assessment on www.webmd.com to help you evaluate your risk. You may want to discuss your results with your physician.

What Can You Do?

It is never too early or too late to start prevention techniques. Preventing osteoporosis or the progression from osteopenia to osteoporosis is important. Here are a few suggestions:

• Eat healthy foods, especially low-fat milk and other types of diary products, green leafy vegetables, and citrus fruits. Many foods are now “calcium fortified,” such as orange juice. Vitamin D is found in milk, but you can get Vitamin D just by spending some time in sunlight. Getting enough calcium in your diet along with proper amounts of Vitamin D helps keep your bones strong.

• Talk to your physician about taking daily calcium and/or Vitamin D supplements. Normally, you need 400 to 1000 IU of vitamin D each day to help your body absorb calcium.

• Start doing weight bearing physical activity regularly. Weight bearing means that you work against some resistance, like using weights or your own body weight, to help strengthen your bones. Walking and lifting weights are good examples of this type of activity.

• Loosing weight may also help prevent and control many medical conditions. However, make sure you loose the weight slowly, about 1-2 pounds per week. When you loose weight fast at a faster pace, you are probably not eating enough and missing out on crucial bone protecting nutrients. To protect your bones, you should make low-fat dairy products part of your weight loss program.

Once your physician has diagnosed osteoporosis, you want to reduce the risk of breaking a bone. Some tips include:

• Avoid lifting heavy objects.

• Start physical activity slowly, building your activity level gradually.

• Wear the right shoes – low heeled shoes with non-slippery soles for walking and the appropriate shoes for sports. Also, make sure the soles of your shoes do not catch on the carpet, which can cause a fall.

• If you need a cane for support walking, use one.

• Keep your home well-lit and uncluttered to help prevent falls.

• Avoid using throw rugs in your home and beware of these rugs when visiting homes of other people.

• Avoid wet and slippery surfaces, like those in your bathroom. Using non-skid mats for your shower and bathtub is a good idea.

More online information about osteoporosis is available on the web site of the National Osteoporosis Foundation, www.nof.org.

Written by Paula Spurway, Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. Resources include: 2008 Service Benefit Plan brochure, Blue Health Connection, and www.webmd.com. Originally appeared in April 2008.