Osteoporosis Treatment

Osteoporosis causes bones to become weak, brittle and more prone to fracture. The disease, which typically develops slowly over years, affects an estimated 10 million Americans as well as another 18 million who have low bone mass (osteopenia). Women older than 50 have a 1 in 5 chance of developing osteoporosis. Half of all women older than 50 will fracture a hip, wrist or vertebra.  The family medicine physicains at MetroSouth Medical Center are committed to the proactive treatment of this disease and reversing the trend of this epidemic in aging women.

Causes

• Drop in estrogen at menopause for women
• Drop in testosterone in men
• Cushing syndrome
• Hyperthyroidism
• Hyperparathyroidism
• Being confined to bed
• Inflammatory conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis
• Elevated corticosteroid levels

Risk Factors

• White women with family history of osteoporosis have a high likelihood of developing osteoporosis.
• Amenorrhea (the absence of menstrual periods)
• Consuming large amounts of alcohol
• Early menopause
• Low body weight
• Smoking
• Not having enough calcium in the diet
• Certain medications, such as antiseizure drugs and steroids
• Eating disorders

Specialists
Your primary care physician may refer you to a specialist, including a radiologist, to undergo a densitometry (DEXA) scan. Or you may be advised to see an orthopedic surgeon, interventional radiologist or neurosurgeon for the treatment of compression fractures.
 

Screening

• Bone Density Screening
  This test is the gold standard for osteoporosis screening. In the past, diagnosing osteoporosis was possible only after a patient broke a bone. Now, however, medical advances allow doctors to conduct bone density screenings to determine the likelihood of a patient fracturing a bone in the future. A bone density test, also called a densitometry or DEXA scan, uses X-rays to measure how many grams of calcium and other bone exist in your wrist, hip and spine (the areas most likely to be affected by osteoporosis).
• Other tests for evaluating osteoporosis include:
  • A spine CT, which can show deterioration in bone mineral density.
  • Quantitative computed tomography (QCT), which evaluates bone density. This treatment is more expensive than DEXA and is less widely available.
  • Standard X-rays of the hip or spine may show fractures, but simple X-rays fall short when it comes to predicting whether a patient is likely to develop osteoporosis.
  • Finally, if your osteoporosis is believed to stem from a medical condition other than the usual bone loss due to older age, your doctor may conduct additional blood and urine tests.
     
• Treatment
  The goals of osteoporosis treatment are to:
  • Control pain from the disease
  • Stop or slow bone loss (maintain bone mass)
  • Prevent bone fractures through medications that strengthen bone
  • Minimize the risk of falls that might lead to fractures

Discuss with your primary care physician a treatment that’s right for you. Many of MetroSouth Medical Center’s primary care physicians specialize in the treatment of women’s health conditions. To schedule an appointment with a MetroSouth Medical Center physician, call 708-789-7925.