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Osteoporosis - Symptoms

Description

An in-depth report on the causes, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of osteoporosis.

Symptoms:

Many people confuse osteoporosis with arthritis and believe they can wait for symptoms such as swelling and joint pain to occur before seeing a doctor. However, the mechanisms that cause arthritis are entirely different from those in osteoporosis. Osteoporosis usually becomes quite advanced before symptoms appear.

All too often, osteoporosis becomes apparent in dramatic fashion: A fracture of a vertebra (backbone), hip, forearm, or any bony site if sufficient bone mass is lost. These fractures frequently occur after apparently minor trauma, such as bending over, lifting, jumping, or falling from the standing position.

Pain, disfigurement, and debilitation are common in the latter stages of the disease. Early spinal compression fractures may go undetected for a long time, but after a large percentage of calcium has been lost, the vertebrae in the spine start to collapse, gradually causing a stooped posture called kyphosis, or a "dowager� ' s hump." Although this is usually painless, patients may lose as much as 6 inches in height.

Click the icon to see an image of osteoporosis.

Resources

www.nof.org -- National Osteoporosis Foundation
www.niams.nih.gov/Health_Info/Bone -- National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases
www.iofbonehealth.org -- International Osteoporosis Foundation
www.healthywomen.org -- National Women's Health Resource Center
www.menopause.org -- North American Menopause Society

References

Ebeling PR. Clinical practice. Osteoporosis in men. N Engl J Med. 2008; 358(14): 1474-82.

Greenspan SL, Bone HG, Ettinger MP, Hanley DA, Lindsay R, Zanchetta JR, et al. Effect of recombinant human parathyroid hormone (1-84) on vertebral fracture and bone mineral density in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis: a randomized trial. Ann Intern Med. 2007;146(5): 326-39.

Greenspan SL, Nelson JB, Trump DL and Resnick NM. Effect of once-weekly oral alendronate on bone loss in men receiving androgen deprivation therapy for prostate cancer: a randomized trial. Ann Intern Med. 2007;146(6): 416-24.

Heckbert SR, Li G, Cummings SR, Smith NL, Psaty BM. Use of alendronate and risk of incident atrial fibrillation in women. Arch Intern Med. 2008;168(8):826-31.

Kothawala P, Badamgarav E, Ryu S, Miller RM and Halbert RJ. Systematic review and meta-analysis of real-world adherence to drug therapy for osteoporosis. Mayo Clin Proc. 2007;82(12): 1493-501.

MacLean C, Newberry S, Maglione M, McMahon M, Ranganath V, Suttorp M, et al. Systematic review: comparative effectiveness of treatments to prevent fractures in men and women with low bone density or osteoporosis. Ann Intern Med. 2008;148(3): 197-213.

National Osteoporosis Foundation. Clinician's Guide to Prevention and Treatment of Osteoporosis -- 2008. Washington, DC.

Qaseem A, Snow V, Shekelle P, Hopkins R Jr., Forciea MA and Owens DK. Pharmacologic treatment of low bone density or osteoporosis to prevent fractures: a clinical practice guideline from the American College of Physicians. Ann Intern Med. 2008;149(6): 404-15.

Tang BM, Eslick GD, Nowson C, Smith C, Bensoussan A. Use of calcium or calcium in combination with vitamin D supplementation to prevent fractures and bone loss in people aged 50 years and older: a meta-analysis. Lancet. 2007 Aug 25;370(9588):657-66.

Reviewed last on: 11/18/2008
Harvey Simon, MD, Editor-in-Chief, Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Physician, Massachusetts General Hospital. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

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