Osteoporosis:   Is a debilitating disease that can be  prevented and  treated. It is often called the 'silent thief' - robbing the body of its bones silently -  and the sufferer may not know until it is too late!

Osteoporosis is a disease in which bones become fragile and more likely to break. If not prevented or if left untreated, osteoporosis can progress painlessly until a bone breaks. These broken bones, also known as fractures, occur typically in the hip, spine, and wrist.

 
Any bone can be affected, but of special concern are fractures of the hip and spine. A hip fracture almost always requires hospitalization and major surgery.   It can impair a person's ability to walk unassisted and may cause prolonged or permanent disability or even death. Spinal or vertebral fractures also have serious consequences, including loss of height, severe back pain, and deformity.

Millions of Indians are at risk. While women are four times more likely than men to develop the disease, men also suffer from osteoporosis.

Osteoporosis is a disease that gradually weakens bones, causing them to become brittle and prone to fractures. Basically, osteoporosis is the loss of bone mass. Normally, bone is continuously being remodelled by removal of old bone and formation of new bone. When removal exceeds formation, bone mass decreases and bones weaken.
 

 
Osteoporosis and its associated fractures can rob a person of their mobility and independence. It is estimated that at age 50 a woman has nearly a 40 per cent chance of developing an osteoporotic fracture during her remaining life time. A woman's life time risk of hip fracture alone is equal to the combines risk of developing breast, uterine, AND ovarian cancer. A 50-year-old woman is just as likely to die from the complications of osteoporosis as from breast cancer. And osteoporotic fractures are 4 times more common than strokes.

Osteoporosis is still undiagnosed and untreated in lakhs of individuals. It is estimated that up to 25 per cent of Indian women over 50 may be osteoporotic.
 

 

Men and Osteoporosis

Twenty per cent of all cases of osteoporosis occurs in men. One in every eight men over 50 will have an osteo-related fracture.
Yet Osteoporosis in men is under-reported, under-investigated and not fully understood.

It is now realized that a large number of men DO ACTUALLY SUFFER from Osteoporosis and like women are also at risk.