Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is a disease that leads to loss of bone mass and destruction of the internal structure of the bone. As a result, the bones become more fragile and the risk of fracture increases.

Osteoporosis is a slowly “creeping” disease that often progresses for decades without showing itself or causing complaints. Often the presence of the disease is established only after painful fractures of the vertebrae, femoral neck or forearm.

Causes

Approximately 30 % of all women are at increased risk of developing osteoporosis. Every fifth woman and every tenth man over 50 suffer from this disease. Currently, only in Germany there are about 4-5 million affected by this disease, and worldwide more than 200 million people are sick.

Risk factors for osteoporosis:

• known cases in the family;
• a single fracture of the bones or frequent cases of fractures;
• lack of movement
• smoking abuse - excessive consumption of coffee;
• lack of calcium-rich foods in the diet - intolerance to dairy products;
• early onset of menopause (menopause);
• back pain;
• hormonal disorders (for example, increased thyroid or parathyroid function, lack of sex hormones;
• asthenic body structure (thinness);
• weight loss - digestive disorders;
• advanced age;
• long-term treatment with cortisone drugs.

Prevention

Osteoporosis is not a necessary evil. The modern arsenal of means and methods of counteracting this disease is quite sufficient to successfully fight it. Early diagnosis makes it possible to apply effective methods of treatment. In this way, painful fractures, the need for care and constant third-party assistance, as well as any disease-related limitations and deterioration in the quality of life of the patient can be avoided.

Symptoms

Acute complaints include back pain. Decreasing stature and a round back (the so-called "widow's hump") indicate collapsed vertebrae, which should not necessarily cause complaints.

Diagnostics

Based on the results of a thorough, comprehensive examination, including a history, laboratory tests and a detailed conversation with the patient, the doctor can detect a possible or probable risk of osteoporosis. A very important research method in this case is osteodensometry. This measurement of bone density provides information about the mineral content of bone tissue and is produced using the DEXA device - measuring bone density at a specific point on the body.

This measurement is based on the "Gold-Standard", a method for measuring bone mineral density according to the principle of dual-energy X-ray densitometry (DEXA). With this so-called DXA technique, very precise measurement results can be achieved in a short time. Hip and spine examinations are painless, easy to perform and last only a few minutes. The level of exposure is very low: lower than during any flight on intra-European routes. Your doctor will receive a measurement result with a very high diagnostic potential and this will form the basis for developing a treatment concept.

Treatment

Treatment depends on how far the disease has progressed. In the early stages, the so-called basic therapy is quite sufficient, consisting, as a rule, of an additional dose of calcium and vitamin D in combination with a targeted program of physical activity. In the progressive stages of the disease, targeted drug treatment is necessary. In cases of broken bones, there is already a need for surgical intervention.

The EuromedClinic, with its complementary, interdisciplinary treatment concept, offers the full range of necessary therapies, both conservative and surgical.