What is the best treatment for osteoporosis?

Osteoporosis is a common condition that affects bone strength. It is often referred to as a silent disease with no symptoms until a fracture occurs. In our blog, physiotherapist Jason Lee looks into what is the best treatment for osteoporosis.

What is osteoporosis?

Osteoporosis is a condition that is caused by a decrease in bone density. As a result, bones become weaker and more brittle making them more likely and prone to fracture.

Our bodies a constantly absorbing and replacing bone and bony material. Osteoporosis and osteopenia occur when old bone material is removed at a greater rate than formation of new bone. Whilst any bone can be affected by osteoporosis, common sites include the hip, spine and wrist.

What are the symptoms of osteoporosis?

Osteoporosis does not have any common signs or symptoms until fracture occurs. In particular, fractures that have occurred from a minor or innocuous incident such as a bump or from bending and twisting should investigated for osteoporosis. Other common signs include hip or wrist fractures following a fall.

Importantly, those that have experienced one fracture are more likely to experience future fractures. Scarily, research suggests that women who have experienced a fracture of their spine are 4 x more likely to have another fracture within the next 12 months.

What causes osteoporosis?

Whilst women are at higher risk of developing osteoporosis, there are common risk factors that make us more prone to developing osteoporosis.

Risk factors for osteoporosis include:

• Decreased physical activity. In particular decreased weight bearing physical activity or exercise.
• Decreased calcium and vitamin D levels.
• Previous family history and genetics.
• Medical history including certain medications including corticosteroids, cancer and some antidepressants. Medical conditions or diseases including rheumatoid arthritis, coeliac disease and inflammatory bowel disease.
• Lifestyle factors such as increased alcohol intake and smoking.
• Post menopause due to decreased oestrogen.

How do I know if I have have osteoporosis?

A non-invasive investigation known as a DEXA scan can be used to assess your bone density. Your physiotherapist will often liaise with your General Practitioner if they suspect that you may be experiencing or at risk of developing osteoporosis.

What is the best treatment for osteoporosis?

Your General Practitioner will often prescribe medication designed to slow down the rate at which your body absorbs bony material. Medical management in conjunction with weight bearing exercise is the most effective method to increase bone density and prevent further deterioration. Weight bearing exercises are any activity that involves your full body weight. This includes general exercise such as walking, dancing and gardening. Specific exercises include squats, lunges and calf raises.

Physiotherapy will commonly also include exercises designed to target strength, balance and overall conditioning to reduce the likelihood of falling if you are experiencing osteoporosis.

Our team at Malvern East Physiotherapy commonly treatment and assist those that experience osteoporosis. In addition to on-site supervised exercise with our physiotherapists, your physiotherapist will also prescribe an individualized and specific treatment program.

If you currently experience osteoporosis or would like to reduce the likelihood of osteoporosis, call us or book online today.