Table of contents:
- 6 symptoms of bone loss (osteoporosis)
- 1. A hunched posture
- 2. Height is getting smaller
- 3. Back pain without cause
- 4. Bones break easily
- Spine
- Hip bones
- Wrist
- 4. Gums shrink
- 5. The grip strength is weakened
- 6. Weak and brittle nails
- Osteopenia, a bone disorder a sign of osteporosis
The process of decreasing bone loss to loss is usually slow and does not show any physical characteristics. This causes the symptoms of bone loss or osteoporosis are often difficult to recognize. Usually, this disease is only discovered when a patient has experienced a fracture. Therefore, pay attention to the following characteristics of porous bones in order to be more vigilant.
6 symptoms of bone loss (osteoporosis)
Bone as part of the mobile system consists of living tissue that can continue to renew itself whenever there is damage. However, as you get older, the process of forming new bone tissue slows down even more. As a result, bones become weak and brittle quickly.
Here are a number of osteoporosis symptoms that often appear in the early stages, but are often not realized:
1. A hunched posture
One of the symptoms of porous bones that need to be considered is the posture that the body is bending over time. Usually, this condition occurs when a fracture occurs in the spine.
After fracturing your spine, your back will tend to arch or bend forward. Unfortunately this can happen slowly without realizing it. Therefore, if you experience any of the symptoms of osteoporosis, get your bone health condition checked by a doctor.
2. Height is getting smaller
Signs of osteoporosis that are still associated with previous symptoms are a shrinking height. When the spine weakens and breaks easily, you may lose height. In fact, symptoms of osteoporosis can occur even if your body is not bent.
It is true that as we get older, the height will slowly shrink. However, when you have osteoporosis, this process will happen more quickly. Therefore, there is nothing wrong with regularly checking your height.
If your height has shrunk to more than 3 centimeters (cm), this could be a sign of osteoporosis that you need to confirm with your doctor. If this condition is not treated promptly, your bone health may worsen.
3. Back pain without cause
Another symptom of bone loss is back pain that occurs for no apparent reason. The back pain that you feel is not what usually happens, but appears suddenly or is very painful.
The reason is, these back pain symptoms can be a sign that you will experience a spinal fracture due to osteoporosis. The problem is, in osteoporosis patients, spinal fractures can occur suddenly or the result of trivial things, such as bending over to pick up an object that has fallen on the floor or sneezing.
This back pain can even cause osteoporosis patients to be unable to move because of the excruciating pain. Therefore, check your health condition at the doctor and ask for a thorough examination to confirm the condition of your bones.
4. Bones break easily
As previously stated, the characteristics or symptoms of a porous bone disease called osteoporosis, which break easily due to something that is arguably quite trivial.
If you are 50 years of age or older and have a fracture due to light activity or movement, this could be a sign that your bones have weakened.
The areas where the bones are most often fractured as a symptom of osteoporosis are:
Spine
Spinal fractures tend to occur most frequently when a person has osteoporosis. These fractures can cause excruciating pain and lead to a bent posture (kyphosis). Even so, sometimes a spinal fracture can just happen without any obvious signs or symptoms.
Hip bones
Hip fractures are the most common symptom of osteoporosis in people aged 75 years and over. Hip fractures generally require hospitalization and surgery.
The healing process is quite long and can even make it difficult or even impossible for a person to move. Even with treatment, there is still a high chance of fracturing the hip back in the future.
Wrist
Broken wrists are one of the most common symptoms of osteoporosis after falling.
Broken wrists can make it difficult to move your hand. This is especially true if the fracture is on the side of your dominant hand.
Be it a broken spine, wrist, or hip, no one should be taken lightly. This condition needs further examination and treatment, because it has the potential to occur due to osteoporosis.
If you are diagnosed with this bone loss disease, be sure to take the osteoporosis medication prescribed by a doctor to prevent fractures that are more dangerous to your health condition.
4. Gums shrink
According to the NIH Osteoporosis and Related Bone Disease National Resource Center, osteoporosis may be related to healthy teeth and gums. This is because the teeth and gums are supported by the jawbone. So, when osteoporosis strikes, the jawbone loses its density, causing the gum line to appear to shrink.
A brittle jawbone is closely related to the symptoms of osteoporosis in this area. If you notice any changes in the gums, check with the dentist to see the condition more details. The doctor will usually do an X-ray of the teeth to see the bone loss that has occurred.
From the X-ray results, the dentist can conclude the problem you are experiencing. However, if it turns out that the mouth x-rays are not clear, the doctor will perform various further tests to confirm that you have osteoporosis or not.
5. The grip strength is weakened
The study, published in the journal Orthopedic Surgery, found evidence that weakened grip strength is associated with bone loss.
When you experience this symptom, do not take it for granted. One or two times may be fair. However, if this happens continuously you also need to be vigilant and see a doctor.
This condition can be a symptom of early osteoporosis that needs to be watched out for and is often ignored, especially in postmenopausal women.
Weakened grip strength can cause a bigger problem, namely fractures. The reason is, when a person's grip weakens, it will be difficult for him to maintain his balance.
A firm grip and grip is a great way to prevent falls. Therefore, immediately consult a doctor to confirm the condition and prevent the severity of osteoporosis if it attacks you.
6. Weak and brittle nails
Maybe you don't realize that weak and brittle nails indicate bone health that is no longer optimal. Why is that?
Basically, nails and bones are made of the same mineral, which is calcium. If your nails appear weaker and brittle than usual, this could indicate that your body is not getting enough calcium, or is not absorbing calcium as well as it used to.
Osteopenia, a bone disorder a sign of osteporosis
Osteopenia is a decrease in bone density to below normal limits. This bone disorder is considered as one of the symptoms of osteoporosis. If it gets worse, osteopenia can progress to osteoporosis, which is a condition of bone loss.
As with osteoporosis, one of the diseases that can cause osteoporosis does not have specific symptoms. No wonder so many people with osteopenia end up experiencing osteoporosis.
Even so, osteopenia does not always lead to osteoporosis. Moreover, if osteopenia is immediately resolved, so that prevention of osteoporosis has been successfully carried out.
If you have osteopenia, immediately practice a healthy lifestyle for your bones, such as exercising regularly and eating bone-strengthening foods. That way, you have reduced your risk of developing osteoporosis.
In addition, your doctor may prescribe various bone-strengthening drugs that are usually given for the treatment of osteoporosis.
