Table of Contents

Osteoporosis - Symptoms, Causes and How to Treat It

Osteoporosis can be experienced by anyone, including children and adults. However, osteoporosis is more common in women who have entered menopause. This condition is caused by reduced hormone estrogen levels, which plays an important role in maintaining bone density.

Osteoporosis is caused by a decrease in the body's ability to regenerate bones, resulting in reduced bone density. This decline in regeneration ability usually begins when a person reaches the age of 35 years. This condition rarely causes symptoms and is usually only noticed when the sufferer experiences an injury.

Osteoporosis is often experienced by adult women entering menopause. Even so, it does not rule out the possibility that children and young adults can also experience it. Apart from age, several other factors can increase the risk of osteoporosis, such as vitamin D deficiency, hypocalcemia, hormonal disorders, lack of exercise, consumption of certain medications, and smoking habits.

What is Osteoporosis?

Osteoporosis is a disease caused by decreased bone density, the ability to regenerate internal bones, and the inability to regulate the mineral content in the bones.

This condition triggers bone loss, making the bones susceptible to fracture. However, this bone loss can occur slowly over a long period. This is what makes sufferers often unaware of the symptoms of osteoporosis.

Someone who has osteoporosis will easily experience injury in several areas, such as:

• Spine fracture.
• Hip fracture.
• Wrist fracture.
• Fractured arm bone.
• Fractured pelvic bone.

In some cases of severe osteoporosis, repeated coughing or sneezing can also cause cracks in the ribs or spine. Sufferers will usually feel pain in the fractured bone.

There is an osteoporosis myth circulating that this disease occurs naturally and cannot be avoided due to aging. In fact, this condition can actually be prevented through a healthy lifestyle and early detection of osteoporosis.

Types of Osteoporosis

Referring to the Indonesian Ministry of Health's Data and Information Center, osteoporosis is divided into two conditions: primary and secondary. Below is an explanation of each.

Primary Osteoporosis

Primary osteoporosis is a condition of decreased bone density in women entering menopause and the elderly. This condition occurs due to a decreased hormone estrogen in old age which can trigger bone loss.

Secondary Osteoporosis

Secondary osteoporosis is osteoporosis triggered by another disease or condition, such as a side effect of surgery or medication.

Causes of Osteoporosis

Bones undergo a constant renewal process. New bones are created and old bones are destroyed. When you are young, your body can make new bone faster than it can break down old bone and bone mass increases. After the early 20s, the process slows down, and most people reach peak bone mass by age 30. As we age, bone mass is lost faster than it is formed. The risk of osteoporosis depends in part on how much bone mass the sufferer had when young. The higher the peak bone mass, the more bone is 'stored', the smaller the chance of developing this health condition.

Risk Factors for Osteoporosis

There are many risk factors for this condition. Some can be modified and others cannot be modified.

Well, modifiable risk factors:

• Sex hormones. Low estrogen levels related to irregular menstrual cycles and menopause can cause osteoporosis in women. Meanwhile, in men, low testosterone levels can cause this bone disease.
• Anorexia nervosa. In anorexia nervosa, the body does not get the nutrition it should. As a result, the body experiences a lack of useful components for maintaining bone density.
• Certain intake deficiencies. Lack of calcium and vitamin D can cause bones to become brittle.
• Other modifiable risk factors. Examples include the use of certain drugs, lack of physical activity, smoking, and alcohol consumption

Meanwhile, risk factors that cannot be modified are:

• Gender. Women are more susceptible to osteoporosis than men. Suppose you want to know why women are more susceptible to this disease. In that case, you can read the article: Reasons Menopausal Women Are Susceptible to Osteoporosis.
• Age. As a degenerative disease, this disease attacks individuals aged around 40 years and over.
• Race. Women of Caucasian and Asian ethnicity have a higher risk than Hispanic and black women.
• Family history. Having a relative who has osteoporosis can increase a person's risk.

Symptoms of Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis tends to show no symptoms in its early stages. However, this condition is usually characterized by bones that break easily due to minor incidents, such as slipping, falling, coughing or sneezing.

Over time, osteoporosis will cause several symptoms such as:

• Neck pain.
• Lower back pain.
• Vulnerable to bone fractures.
• Bowed body posture.
• Gradual decrease in height.

Symptoms of osteoporosis that are not treated immediately will cause the bone structure and composition to thin and weaken. This condition increases a person's risk of experiencing a bone fracture.

How to Treat Osteoporosis

If you are diagnosed with osteoporosis, your doctor will determine a treatment plan tailored to your health condition. Some osteoporosis treatment plans are as follows:

1). Administration of Bisphosphonate Drugs

This drug, which is available in tablet and injection form, functions to slow bone loss in the body. Bisphosphonates can help maintain bone density and reduce the risk of bone fractures.

2). Monoclonal Antibody Treatment

This drug can maintain bone density and reduce the risk of other bone damage. Usually, the doctor will give this drug every 6 months via injection.

3). Hormone Therapy

Suppose the trigger for osteoporosis is low levels of certain hormones. In that case, doctors usually recommend hormone therapy to increase these hormone levels.

4). Increase consumption of calcium and vitamin D

Calcium is an important mineral that is good for maintaining healthy bones, while vitamin D can help the body absorb calcium. You can get calcium and vitamin D from daily intake, such as milk and cereal, or take additional supplements as your doctor recommends.

How to Prevent Osteoporosis

Some efforts that can be taken to prevent osteoporosis are as follows:

Follow a healthy diet by consuming foods that contain calcium and vitamin D. Try to meet your calcium needs of 1000 mg/day and vitamin D of 400-800 IU/day. Some intake options that are rich in calcium and vitamin D are yogurt, milk and cereal.

Exercise regularly.

Adopt a healthy lifestyle, such as stopping smoking and drinking alcohol.

Early prevention needs to be done to prevent complications due to osteoporosis. If you experience symptoms that resemble osteoporosis, consult a doctor immediately.

Home Remedy 1: Ultimate Turmeric

Ingredients:

• 300 ml water
• 2 Turmeric around an adult's little finger
• 2 pieces of ginger, about the size of an adult's thumb
• 1/2 lime
• Enough honey
• 1/2 tsp non-refined salt

Method:

1. Thinly slice or crush the ginger and turmeric
2. Then boil the two ingredients in water, but don't let it boil
3. just enough to smell the fragrance, and the color of the water changes slightly
4. after that, turn off the stove and wait until it is warm
5. Add honey, non-refined salt and lime juice
6. Drink while warm

Apart from strengthening bones, this recipe can also be helpful in improving the digestive system.

Home Remedy 2: Ultimate Dates

Ingredients

• Dates
• Almonds
• Pistachios
• walnut
• hazelnuts
• Enough water

Method

1. the ratio of all ingredients is 1:1
2. so, if the almonds are 50 grams, then the other ingredients are the same
3. Make juice from a mixture of all the ingredients above
4. for heart care, enough to drink once a week
5. Nut juice is not only good for the heart. It can also reduce bad cholesterol (LDL) levels in the blood, nourish blood vessels, strengthen bones, and increase brain intelligence.
6. Besides that, God willing, this juice can help reset hormone levels in the body.

This juice is also suitable for consumption by nursing mothers to increase milk levels (ASI Booster) and can increase body weight.

Healthy Recipes JSR Page. 156