Page 10 - Seniors Today June2020
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Cover Story
All About
Osteoporosis
The Big O, osteoporosis, is among the things we dread as we grow older.
Dr Darius Soonawala tells us what is osteoporosis, and how to manage it
Osteoporosis is a condition that results in maintaining bone strength. When women
loss of bone strength, making bones fragile go through menopause there is a significant
and more prone to fracture. fall in oestrogen. This means there is rapid
It occurs when bones lose minerals and bone loss in the years immediately after
proteins, more quickly than the body can menopause. However, the rate of loss slows
replace them. This leads to loss of bone 4-8 years after menopause. This is why
thickness (also called bone mass or density). osteoporosis affects women much more.
This is a normal part of ageing for everyone.
About normal bone strength
Normal bone also contains collagen, a
protein that forms the physical framework
of bone. On this framework is a mixture
of minerals like calcium, phosphorus and
magnesium, giving the whole frame strength
and rigidity.
Bone is constantly being broken down
and reformed. From birth upto age 25, bone
is largely built up and little broken down.
From our mid 30s onwards, more bone is
broken down than formed. This results in a
gradual decrease in bone strength as we age.
Hormones such as oestrogen play a role in
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