A brief discussion on osteoporosis

First of all, we need to know that this is a disease. What disease is it? It is osteoporosis. Let us learn about this disease together.

Osteoporosis is a systemic metabolic bone disease characterized by decreased bone mass, destruction of bone microstructure, and easy fracture. It is common in middle-aged and elderly people and is affected by factors such as drugs, hormones, and diseases. Its diagnostic criteria can be divided into two categories. One is based on the diagnostic criteria for bone density measurement, which generally refers to the patient undergoing dual-energy X-ray measurement. If the T value is less than -2.5, then osteoporosis can be diagnosed. One is based on the diagnostic criteria for brittle fractures, which means that if there is bone loss or osteoporosis, fractures can be diagnosed. This disease usually has no obvious clinical manifestations, so it is called a silent disease. However, as the disease progresses, bone mass continues to be lost, bone structure is destroyed, and people will experience bone pain, which manifests as back pain or whole body bone pain. It usually occurs when turning over or sitting up, and the pain worsens at night or during weight-bearing activities.

The most serious consequence of osteoporosis is osteoporotic fracture, which is a brittle fracture. Fractures can occur when slight external forces are applied during daily activities, such as coughing. Common fracture sites are the thoracic spine, lumbar spine, distal forearm and proximal humerus. Therefore, if you feel back pain without doing anything, it is very likely that you have a fracture.

In the past, the elderly did not have good medical conditions, and the symptoms after fracture were mild. They often endured a little pain, but their vertebrae had already suffered compression fractures. Over time, the vertebrae were slowly compressed and flattened, which would cause spinal deformities such as short stature or hunchback. Spinal fractures are the most common osteoporotic fractures. Today, let's take spinal fractures as an example to learn about the treatment methods. It is said that it takes a hundred days to heal a broken bone. In addition to staying in bed for three months, we can also choose surgical treatment. When it comes to surgery, everyone is afraid, especially the elderly. But do you know that a segment of percutaneous vertebroplasty (the name of the surgery for vertebral compression fractures) can solve your back pain problem in just half an hour, and you can get out of bed and move around one or two hours after the operation. The pain problem can be effectively solved after the operation. When the elderly can take care of themselves, this will save you as a child a lot of problems. It is much easier than the elderly strictly staying in bed for three months.

In addition to the effects of drugs and hormone metabolism, our lifestyle and diet, such as smoking, alcoholism, drinking too much caffeinated beverages, lack of physical activity, long-term bed rest, reduced sunlight, calcium deficiency, vitamin D deficiency, high-sodium diet, etc., can accelerate osteoporosis. Effective anti-osteoporosis treatment can increase bone density and reduce the risk of fractures.

my country has included bone density testing in the routine physical examination items for people over 40 years old. High-risk people screened out should have their bone density tested regularly to prevent and treat the disease. We should also improve our lifestyle, such as quitting smoking, drinking, exercising, and sunbathing, including calcium and vitamin D supplementation. If you and your family have the above problems, please actively seek medical treatment and choose appropriate treatment methods to protect the health of yourself and your family.

Contributing author: Liu Yujie, Department of Spine Surgery, Liaocheng People's Hospital