Osteoporosis, the disease of bone loss, affects approximately 75 million people worldwide, according the International Osteoporosis Foundation. This disease targets women more than men, perhaps due to the calcium demands placed on the body in pregnancy. Osteoporosis typically occurs in late adulthood and may not cause signs and symptoms until the disease is quite advanced.
Bone Loss
The progressive bone loss associated with osteoporosis can be effectively slowed by eating calcium-rich foods and participating in weight bearing activities. The ravages of bone loss noticeably affect height, and a person may lose several inches on their frame. Bone loss can also cause a person to hunch over when walking. Assistive devices help prevent falls and maintain the ability to walk; walking is considered a weight-bearing exercise.
Fractures
The most prevalent effect of osteoporosis on the body is fractures. As people age, bone marrow, rich in red-blood cells, is replaced with fat. Calcium intake either declines as appetite is lost, calcium synthesis becomes ineffective, and lives become more sedentary. These three factors contribute to brittle bones. Over time, bones become so brittle that everyday activities such as walking down stairs, turning a doorknob or bending over lead become opportunities for fractures of the feet, wrist and vertebrae, according to the website, MayoClinic.com. Numerous vertebral fractures may result in the inability to walk, bath or dress without assistance. Compression fractures occur when the vertebrae collapse, which is an additional factor in loss of height.
Hip fractures, as a result of falls, also commonly occur in patients with osteoporosis.
Pain
Due to fractures and compromise of the spinal column and vertebrae, severe back pain may be experienced by an osteoporosis sufferer. Although pain medication may alleviate some pain, activities of daily living become compromised when the patient feels too pained to move.
Impaired Breathing
Bone loss in the spine and rib cage can impair an individual's ability to breath, according to Drs. Joyce Black and Jane Hawkes in the book, "Medical Surgical Nursing." Broken bones pressing on the lungs or compressed bone structures shrinking the space for lung expansion, compromises breathing ability. Ineffective expansion of lungs puts the elderly at risk for pneumonia.
References
- International Osteoporosis Foundation: Facts and Statistics
- MayoClinic.com: Osteoporosis
- "Medical-Surgical Nursing: Clinical Management for Positive Outcomes"; Joyce M. Black PhD RN CPSN CWCN FAPWCA and Jane Hokanson Hawks DNSc RN BC; 2008
