What to do to prevent osteoporosis?

Osteoporosis is one of the common diseases that occur with age. If this disease is not detected early and treated promptly, it can lead to many dangerous complications.

Osteoporosis is one of the common diseases that occur with age - Illustration: BVCC

Sharing about this disease, nurse Pham Thi Hong Hanh - Department of Internal Medicine, 108 Military Central Hospital, said that osteoporosis is a disease that often progresses silently, without obvious symptoms.

In some cases, the disease is only discovered when complications occur. Therefore, each individual should proactively equip themselves with knowledge about the disease to protect their health.

Accordingly, osteoporosis (porous bones, brittle bones) is a condition in which bones gradually become thinner. Bone density gradually decreases over time, making bones more brittle, vulnerable and prone to fracture even with minor trauma. Osteoporotic fractures often occur in the spine, femur and forearm.

Signs of osteoporosis

According to this expert, bone loss (decreased bone density) due to osteoporosis often has no obvious signs. Patients often do not know they have the disease until their bones become weak and easily broken after minor traumas such as sprains, falls, and collisions. Common symptoms of the disease are:

Decreased bone density: This condition can cause the spine to collapse and fracture. Patients often have acute back pain, reduced height, stooped gait, and hunchback.

Bone pain: This is the most noticeable symptom of bone loss. The disease will cause fatigue along the long bones, even pain throughout the body like needle pricks.

Pain in the weight-bearing bones of the body, including: spine, lumbar spine, pelvis, hip bones, knees.

Pain recurs many times after injury. Patients often have a dull, persistent pain. The pain increases with movement, walking, standing or sitting for a long time; it is relieved with rest.

Pain in the spine, lower back or intercostal sides: This condition affects the intercostal nerves, femoral nerves and sciatic nerves.

Back pain gets worse when the patient moves vigorously or suddenly changes position. Therefore, the patient will have difficulty performing positions such as bending or turning completely.

Bone density loss in middle-aged people may be accompanied by signs of varicose veins, high blood pressure, osteoarthritis...

How to prevent osteoporosis

To slow down and prevent osteoporosis, in addition to identifying secondary causes of osteoporosis, nurse Hanh recommends that everyone should pay attention to:

Supplement enough calcium and vitamin D for the body through diet, consult your doctor for advice on suitable supplements.

People in the risk group should have their bone density measured to check and detect signs of osteoporosis early.

Regular exercise at the right intensity builds strong bones and increases muscle flexibility, especially for the elderly.

Do not smoke, abuse alcohol and stimulants to avoid harming bones and joints.

When musculoskeletal problems appear (joint pain, muscle pain, frequent cramps...) you should go to the hospital for timely examination and treatment.

Avoid overusing painkillers and anti-osteoarthritis drugs, especially corticosteroids. Overusing these drugs can worsen osteoporosis, leading to dangerous complications.

Be careful when living and working to avoid unfortunate accidents.

In addition, it is necessary to balance hormones when entering pre-menopause (over 40 years old). Women need to combine daily calcium supplements with estrogen to compensate for the decline in female hormones during pre-menopause and menopause.

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WILLOW

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/lam-gi-de-phong-ngua-benh-loang-xuong-20250703194024499.htm