The Silent Killer Within
It's Silent. It's unpredictable. And most of all, it's un-curable. Millions of Americans, young and old, suffer because of this debilitating, unsympathetic monster. It's called osteoporosis. And despite the above mentioned characteristics of this disease, it is also preventable as will be shown within.
Osteoporosis (ŏs'tē-ō-pə-rō'sĭs)
n., pl. -ses (-sēz). A disease in which the bones become extremely porous, are subject to fracture, and heal slowly, occurring especially in women following menopause and often leading to curvature of the spine from vertebral collapse.
Millions of Americans have osteoporosis. They are mostly women, but more than 2 million men also have this disease. White and Asian women are most likely to have osteoporosis. Other women at great risk include those who:
- Have a family history of the disease,
- Have broken a bone while an adult,
- Had surgery to remove their ovaries before their periods stopped,
- Had early menopause,
- Have not gotten enough calcium throughout their lives,
- Had extended bed rest,
- Used certain medicines for a long time, or
- Have a small body frame.
The risk of osteoporosis grows as you get older. At the time of menopause women may lose bone quickly for several years. After that, the loss slows down, but continues. In men the loss of bone mass is slower.
If not prevented, or if left untreated, osteoporosis can progress until a bone actually breaks. Over the past few years, there has been an enormous amount of information arise from recent extensive research on this painful and crippling disease. Unfortunately, a cure has not been found for osteoporosis, however, researchers have identified numerous ways individuals can lessen their potential of osteoporosis. However, if present day trends of unhealthy eating and lack of exercise continues, osteoporosis threatens to be...