THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT OSTEOPOROSIS

1. WHAT IS OSTEOPOROSIS?

Osteoporosis (OSS) is a phenomenon of increased bone porosity, reduced bone mass in the body, making bones brittle and easy to break. Causing scoliosis, which greatly affects the quality of life and increases the risk of bone fractures.

Osteoporosis often has no symptoms at first, but by the time there are clear signs, bone mass has usually been lost by more than 1/3.

2. CONSEQUENCES OF OSTEOPOROSIS?

As you know, when we have osteoporosis, our bones become weak and easily broken, even with minor injuries. The bones that are commonly broken include the femur, spine, arm, pelvis, and ribs. Vertebral fractures are the most common.

3. DOCTOR, AT WHAT AGE CAN OSTEOPOROSIS OCCUR AND WHEN SHOULD WE TAKE MEASURES TO PREVENT OSTEOPOROSIS?

Before answering the question of what age group can have LX, I will talk about the stages of bone formation and development. In our body, there are always two processes of bone formation and destruction.

In children up to puberty, the bone formation process is usually stronger than the bone destruction process, so children develop maximum height during this period. Adequate nutrition, physical exercise, and sunlight exposure are essential from a young age.

As we enter late adulthood (age 25-30), bone formation typically slows down, remaining at a rate equivalent to bone resorption.

After adulthood (after age 30), bone loss begins to occur because the rate of bone resorption is higher than the rate of bone formation.

Osteoporosis often begins to be noticed or detected when bone fracture complications occur in middle age (after 40 years old), when bone reserves have decreased to the point where they can no longer ensure bone function...

Therefore, osteoporosis prevention must be done before adulthood. If we create a high bone density when we are young, the risk of osteoporosis will be reduced when we are old.

4. RISK FACTORS OF LX?

LX is a disease that is influenced by many factors. Here are some risk factors to assess the possibility of fracture:

1. Reduced bone density: is the most important risk factor for osteoporosis.

2. Elderly people.

3. Female.

4. Low body weight <40kg, rickets, poor health, weakness.

5. Use corticosteroids.

6. Smoking, drinking a lot of alcohol.

7. Calcium deficiency.

8. Poor vision, memory loss.

9. Falls and muscle weakness.

10. Family history of parents with hip fractures or personal history of hip fractures after age 50.

11. Secondary causes of osteoporosis:

- Arthritis, osteoarthritis.

- Women with early menopause, oophorectomy, men with testicular dysfunction.

- Little physical activity, little outdoor activity, immobility for too long due to illness or occupation.

- Suffering from some endocrine diseases: diabetes, hyperthyroidism,..

- Chronic gastrointestinal diseases, chronic liver disease, chronic kidney failure, COPD.

5. WHO NEEDS TO BE SCREENED FOR OSTEOPOROSIS?

Osteoporosis often has no symptoms until you break a bone. Therefore, it is necessary to have a bone density test to find out if you have osteoporosis. This is a quick, safe and painless method of diagnosis.

Patients who need to be screened for LX disease are:

1. Premenopausal women (with increased risk factors*).
2. Women who have had their ovaries removed or are just postmenopausal.
3. Men from 50 years old (with risk factors*).
4. People with chronic diseases or using drugs that affect bone metabolism: corticosteroids, proton pump inhibitors, high doses of thyroid hormones, etc.
5. People being considered for treatment of osteoporosis.
6. People who have been treated for osteoporosis and want to evaluate the effectiveness of the treatment should have their bone density measured with the same machine once a year.
7. Women who have been treated with hormone replacement therapy and want to stop treatment.

6. NOW THERE ARE MANY PLACES THAT MEASURE OSTEOPOROSIS IN THE HEEL AND WRIST FOR FREE, MEASURING OSTEOPOROSIS IN THE FEBRUARY AND LUMBAR SPINE IS MORE COSTLY. IS IT OK TO MEASURE BY ANY METHOD, DOCTOR?

Currently, there are many forms of free osteoporosis measurement using cheap machines, which only measure some peripheral locations such as the heel and wrist, so the results cannot be used as a representative of the entire body's bones. Peripheral bone mass measurement is used to screen for osteoporosis in the community, only for research purposes, and has no diagnostic value. If this diagnostic result is used to prescribe drugs or calcium preparations for patients, it is wrong, seriously affecting health, causing waste of time and money.

According to the recommendation of the World Health Organization (WHO), measuring bone density at the femoral neck and lumbar spine using the Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA) method is the gold standard for diagnosing osteoporosis. The best osteoporosis measuring machine today is the Hologic-USA DXA machine.

7. DOCTOR, TO PREVENT OSTEOPOROSIS DURING MENOPAUSE, WHAT SHOULD WE EAT, HOW MUCH CALCIUM IS USE EACH DAY AND SHOULD WE TAKE CALCIUM SUPPLEMENTS ON OUR OWN?

This is a problem that many menopausal women are worried about.

We need to know that, to prevent osteoporosis, calcium supplementation must be noted from a young age, and the best and most natural way to provide calcium is through diet. If the diet is not enough or for some reason the body lacks calcium, then it is necessary to supplement with medicine. And if it is medicine, even if it is a supplement, it still needs a doctor's prescription on the quantity, time of use, how to use... and should not be taken on your own.

Menopausal women have a very high calcium requirement, about 1200mg/day, because the ovaries stop producing estrogen, reducing calcium absorption and increasing bone loss. To ensure adequate calcium requirements for this age:

Choosing foods rich in calcium from animal protein sources such as fish (with bones), shrimp, small prawns (with shells), field crabs, eggs... in moderate amounts (If the amount of protein is high, the acidic body environment will take calcium from the bones to neutralize, making osteoporosis worse due to increased bone loss).

Beans and dark green vegetables are high in calcium and are good for your health.

Milk, yogurt, etc. are all supplemented with high calcium content, easy to absorb, low in fat, suitable for the needs of menopausal women.

We need to limit foods high in animal fat, skin, organs, sweet foods, soft drinks, too salty foods, canned foods, drinking too much coffee, strong tea... because they hinder the body's absorption of calcium.

8. VEGETARIANISM IS BECOMING MORE AND MORE POPULAR NOW. DOCTOR, DOES A VEGETARIAN DIET CONTAIN ENOUGH NUTRITION TO PREVENT OSTEOPOROSIS IF I STARTED A VEGETARIAN DIET FROM A AGE?

Eating vegetarian properly and getting enough nutrition does not cause osteoporosis.

Foods such as sesame, beans, roasted brown rice, cereals, tofu, black fungus, dark green vegetables such as spinach, bok choy, cauliflower... help to diversify meals and still meet daily calcium needs. These dishes are also very suitable for vegetarian patients.

In addition, there are many plant-based milk products such as soy milk, lotus seed milk, etc. that provide high calcium content suitable for vegetarians.

9. HOW TO EXERCISE TO PREVENT LX DISEASE?

Exercise is very important for health, as our grandparents said: "laziness makes bones rot" because we need to be active for calcium to enter the bones. Maintaining physical activities such as walking, yoga, tennis, etc. at least 30 minutes/day, and at least 5 days/week is necessary.

In addition, outdoor exercise helps the body synthesize Vitamin D thanks to sunlight, helps absorb calcium effectively, strengthens bones, helps burn energy and prevents weight gain.

A relaxed mind and stress relief also help to absorb calcium better.

10. WHAT IS THE PROPER TREATMENT FOR LX? HOW LONG DOES THE TREATMENT TAKE?

The main goal of osteoporosis treatment is to prevent further bone loss and prevent bone fractures. To be effective, osteoporosis treatment must be comprehensive, continuous and long-term. Osteoporosis treatment lasts 3-5 years (depending on the severity of osteoporosis), after which the doctor will re-evaluate the condition and decide on further treatment.

Measure bone mass (DXA method at the femoral neck and lumbar spine) every year to monitor and evaluate treatment results. It is better to measure with the same machine for more accurate comparison of results.

In addition to a diet that meets daily calcium needs, we need to avoid risk factors: tobacco, coffee, alcohol, strong tea, etc., and avoid being overweight or underweight.

Maintain regular physical activity.

Prevent falls: use handrails, ensure lighting, non-slip floors, use walking aids if necessary.

Improve vision, be careful when using sleeping pills in the elderly.

Use LX treatment medication as prescribed by your doctor.