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Showing posts with label Osteoporosis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Osteoporosis. Show all posts

Monday, February 2, 2015

BONE DISEASES-Osteoporosis and Osteomalacia Causes symptoms treatment remedies

BONE DISEASES 

Osteoporosis and Osteomalacia Beginning at about age 50, it is not unusual for people to note a slight diminution of height every few years. It is well known, too, that bones tend to become more brittle and to be more prone to fracture as we pass from the middle years to the later years. Both the slight height reduction and tendency to bone brittleness result from a process called osteoporosis (literally, softening of the bones) which occurs with aging

Bones that are osteoporotic contain the same individual minerals and proteins but they are less dense than younger bones.

Hence, they are more likely to be compressed (resulting in height loss) or broken. While x-rays do not invariably reveal the presence of osteoporosis, it is not uncommon for the condition to be first identified on a routine x-ray film. One rather common x-ray finding in osteoporosis is compression and fracture of a vertebra which may cause mild back pain but does not endanger the spinal cord. Osteoporosis is not limited to the later years. Other causes which a physician must consider include:

1. Steroid medications which may produce osteoporosis changes even in very young patients when administered for prolonged periods.

2. Lack of stress. Bones begin to weaken when they are not subjected to normal stresses such as those exerted by muscles and by the pull of gravity. Astronauts, as the result of exposure to gravity- free environment, have shown early changes of osteoporosis. More commonly, such changes may stem from immobilization because of illness or the casting of a fractured bone. Osteoporosis also may be- come apparent after a stroke when muscles in a limb fall into disuse.

3. A diet low in calcium and protein.

These are the basic building blocks of bone, and a dietdeficient in them will eventually lead to weakening of bones.

Cancer, when it spreads to bone, weakens the intrinsic structure.

Menopause apparently hastens the development of osteoporosis, and many women past the menopause exhibit bone changes (see page 618). What can be done to prevent osteoporosis and to treat it should it occur? Prolonged immobilization should be avoided. If it cannot be, exercises to maintain muscle tone and stress on bone are of value. Almost every hospital today has a physical therapist to administer such exercises as a precaution.

Bone diseases poor blood supply, natural body defenses against infection, which are circulated by the blood, have a more difficult time reaching a trouble area. Bone infection may result from in- jury to a bone, such as a compound fracture, or the entrance of a foreign body, or from spread of infection from elsewhere in the body. If acute bone infection is not treated effectively, the infection may become chronic. 

With chronic osteomyelitis, the bone is weakened and made more subject to fracture, pus may be discharged chronically through the skin, the body's reserves are drained by the constant need to fight the infection, and there may be considerable pain and discomfort.

For these reasons, any attack of severe bone pain and fever-usually it occurs in a child or young adult- needs quick evaluation and therapy. An effort will be made to identify the causative organisms and select an anti- biotic suitable for combating them. In addition, surgery to drain the infected area may be required. Surgery is often an indispensable adjunct to antibiotic treatment in cases of chronic bone infection. 

Dead and dying tissuewhich serves as the nest, for continuing infection must be removed. Occasionally it is difficult to remove all the infected or dead tissue located in and around the bone, and repeated surgery may be required. In some instances, chronic osteomyelitis may be present for years, with alternating periods of quiescence and activity, and intensive therapy is needed to affect a cure.