Osteoporosis
What is Osteoporosis?
Osteoporosis is the thinning of bone tissue and loss of bone density over time caused by the body’s inability to form enough new bone, when too much old bone is reabsorbed by the body, or both.
Calcium and phosphate are two minerals that are essential for normal bone formation. Unfortunately, as people age, calcium and phosphate may be reabsorbed back into the body from the bones, which makes the bone tissue weaker. This can result in brittle, fragile bones that are more prone to fractures, even without injury.
Usually, the loss occurs gradually over years. Many times, a person will have a fracture before becoming aware that the disease is present. By the time a fracture occurs, the disease is in its advanced stages and damage can be severe.
There are no symptoms in the early stages of the disease. Symptoms occurring late in the disease include:
- Bone pain or tenderness
- Fractures with little or no trauma
- Loss of height (as much as six inches) over time
- Low back pain due to fractures of the spinal bones
- Neck pain due to fractures of the spinal bones
- Stooped posture, often referred to as a “dowager’s hump”
Who is Affected?
Osteoporosis is the most common type of bone disease affecting an estimated one out of every five American women over the age of 50. Men over the age of 70 are also at risk.
Caucasian women, especially those with a family history of osteoporosis, have a greater than average risk of developing the disease. Other risk factors include:
- Absence of menstrual periods for long periods of time
- Excessive alcohol consumption
- History of synthetic hormone treatment for prostate cancer or breast cancer
- Low body weight
- Smoking
- Too little calcium in the diet
- Highly acidic, sugary diet
The leading causes of osteoporosis are a drop in estrogen in women at the time of menopause and a drop in testosterone in men.
Other causes include:
- Being confined to a bed
- Chronic rheumatoid arthritis, chronic kidney disease and eating disorders
- Taking corticosteroid medications (prednisone, methylprednisolone) every day for more than 3 months, or taking some antiseizure drugs
- Hyperparathyroidism
- Vitamin D deficiency
What are Options for Treatment?
Since family history is a risk factor for osteoporosis, at the Magaziner Center for Wellness, we use genomic testing to gauge a genetic predisposition to bone loss and, where one is identified, treat the predisposition using nutritional supplements customized for a patient’s individual needs.
We look closely at each patient’s diet and lifestyle and work with her/him to make any necessary modifications. For instance, if we see that a patient is consuming too much red meat and or sugar, we help her/him move toward a plant-based eating plan; if we see excessive smoking and alcohol use, we work to identify healthy strategies for stress relief, including physical activity that emphasizes weight-bearing and resistance exercises, both of which can reduce the likelihood of bone fractures in people with osteoporosis. We also consider the patient’s use of antacids, as chronic use can increase the levels of acidity in the body. When there is too much acid in the body, it draws the calcium needed to neutralize that acid from the bones, thereby preventing the bones from being adequately strengthened.
We have found that many with osteoporosis have insulin resistance. As a result, we do a thorough evaluation regarding lipid balance, and insulin and glucose metabolism and treat these areas accordingly.
Additionally, we assess for appropriate digestion and assimilation to be sure that a patient can properly break down and utilize the nutrients in their food.
Where necessary, we use nutritional supplements, namely vitamin D and calcium, to ensure that patients are getting the vitamins and, especially, the minerals, needed to keep bones healthy and strong, longer. These include zinc, copper. silica, manganese and magnesium.
We assess levels of estrogen, progesterone and testosterone and, if necessary, we replace these hormones using bio-identical hormones – hormones that have a chemical structure identical to the hormones that the human body naturally produces.
Lastly, we use the osteoporosis program offered by Ondamed, an advanced biofeedback technology from Germany that has been used with great success at the Magaziner Center to help treat the symptoms of osteoporosis and help heal the fractures that often result from the disease.