Friday, August 17, 2007

Keep Exercising To Keep Osteoporosis At Bay

Osteoporosis Can Strike at Thirty

Although osteoporosis is known to appear especially on
older people, the truth is that the disease can strike at
any age.

Therefore, millions and millions of people are at risk. And
not only women even though osteoporosis is associated in
most of the cases with them, but also men can suffer from
this debilitating condition.

Women are four times more likely to develop the disease
than men

Osteoporosis is a disease that makes the bones so fragile
and they are more likely to break.

There are no kinds of symptoms, no pain, no warning signs
that could alert people about the onset of the disease.

The first indication can be something minor like a fall, a
bump or a strain causing easily a break or fracture.

Any bone can be affected, but in many cases fractures occur
in the hip, spine or wrist.

Spinal fractures are serious, severe back pain, permanent
loss of height and deformity are often the outcome.

Hip fractures are very dangerous. In the most of the cases,
they require major surgery.

Both are likely to impair the ability to walk without
assistance.

Test have proven that one in every two Caucasian women and
one in eight men over the age of 50 are probable to suffer
an osteoporosis related fracture at some time in their
remaining lifetime.

Some women can lose almost 20% of bone mass only in the
first 5-7 years after the menopause, increasing their
susceptibility to the disease.

Important factors that can determine the disease are: a
thin/small frame, anorexia nervosa, advanced age, post
menopause including early or induced menopause, the
existence of the disease in the family history, low
testosterone in men, sedentary lifestyle, low calcium
diet, smoking and excessive consumption of alcohol.

Prevention

Osteoporosis is a disease that needs to be prevented. No
one is too young to prepare herself or himself to fight
against it.

This can begin in early childhood and even teen years by
building strong bones, the best foundation for prevention
in later years.

The average woman will have acquired 98% of her skeletal
mass by the age of twenty.

Good to start at any age, there are three fundamental steps
you can take to reduce the chances of suffering from
osteoporosis.

· A healthy diet rich especially in calcium and vitamin D.
· A good lifestyle with without alcohol and smoking.
· A regular routine of weight bearing exercises.

Older people or any other ones who feel they might be at
risk, are advised to seek medical advice on the size of
weights and intensity of the routines, because there is the
danger of overdoing it which may result in fracture if the
disease already exists inside their body.

The critical years for building bone mass in women are from
childhood to age thirty.

According to some medical experts, a balanced diet and
regular exercise can determine the increase of the bone
mass by as much as 20% in women by age thirty.

Bone density measurements can be taken in various parts of
the body without any pain, discomfort or invasive procedure.

The tests that help people to prevent and treat osteoporosis

· can show your rate of bone density loss and monitor the
effects on a regular basis.
· are able to detect the disease before suffering a related
fracture so precautionary steps can be taken.
· can predict your future chances of suffering a fracture
due to the disease.

It is a wise precaution to consult your medical advisor and
request bone density tests if you think there is a chance
that you are at risk.

Regular exercise, a healthy diet and lifestyle will help
prevent and fight virtually every disease.

All these are necessary because what you must know is that
with osteoporosis there are NO warning signs, no symptoms
meant to put you on your guard. This is the reason for
which osteoporosis is often referred to as "the silent
disease".


----------------------------------------------------
For more valuable information about health and fitness,
please visit
http://www.hotexercise.com

No comments: