1. Get Diagnosed
If you are over 65, have a family history of osteoporosis or have another condition that depletes calcium in the body, you are at elevated risk for the disease. Getting a bone-density scan can help you determine whether you have osteoporosis. This is the easy way. Waiting until you suffer a bone fracture and tests are performed is the hard way.
Backaches, spinal stooping or a loss of height may indicate bone-tissue loss. See your doctor if you notice these symptoms increasing or if you know that you have risks, such as family history or low estrogen levels, that may not show physical signs. Measuring your bone density, learning your medical history and assessing your overall health will allow your doctor to diagnose the progression of the disease correctly.
2. Get the Right Medication
Medication will treat and possibly halt bone loss, but won't cure it. Osteoporosis affects many postmenopausal women, whose estrogen levels rapidly drop. Your doctor may prescribe bisphosphonates, which mimic estrogen in the maintenance of bone mass and strength. Other forms of the condition may require the use of other natural or synthetic hormones.
It is important to let your doctor know all the medications you are taking, so that any drugs prescribed to treat bone loss won't impede them or vice versa. The time of dosage and method of taking osteoporosis drugs may also need to be monitored.
3. Adjust Your Lifestyle
Feed your condition with calcium-rich, low-phosphorus foods. Improve and maintain bone strength with low-impact exercise, such as walking. Making these positive additions will benefit other areas of your health as well.
Reduce the risk of falls and bone fractures by becoming aware of your movements. Regular exercise will develop your strength and balance, but you should avoid quick, jerky moves, such as jumping, and extreme twisting at the waist, such as swinging a golf club. If you notice that you are leaning, slumping or stumbling, you might consider using a cane or walker.
Further prevent falls by rearranging furniture and electrical cords to avoid tripping. Use the low shelves in cupboards to eliminate standing on unsteady stools or stepladders. Living with osteoporosis can be pain free if you reduce the risk before a fall happens.
