Osteoporosis

What is osteoporosis?

Osteoporosis is a disease that causes bones to become porous, gradually making them weak and brittle. It is a “silent” disease. It occurs without symptoms. You may not know you have osteoporosis until a bone becomes so weak that it breaks.

The time to find out if you have osteoporosis is before a bone breaks.

Risk factors of osteoporosis include:

• Female
• Advanced age
• Estrogen deficiency
• Lack of calcium in your diet
• Small bone structure
• Caucasian or Asian descent
• Certain medications, such as steroid and thyroid hormones
• Smoking
• Too little exercise
• Family history of osteoporosis
• Too much alcohol
• Anorexia or bulimia
• Low testosterone levels in men
• Too much caffeine