World Osteoporosis Day: how to spot the bone thinning condition early, and ways to head it off with the right diet and exercise
- Osteoporosis is estimated to affect over 200 million people worldwide. Screening can spot the early stages of the bone thinning condition in women and men
- Doing high-impact sports and weight training, having enough vitamin D and calcium in our diet, and not smoking or drinking, help maintain good bone density
When I broke a rib for no apparent reason at the not-so-old age of 50, I quickly learned about a disease that is estimated to affect more than 200 million sufferers worldwide: osteoporosis.
Osteoporosis is “a condition where bones become weakened, decrease in … density and lose their strength”, says Dr Iris Ngai Sze-ling, the honorary secretary of the Osteoporosis Society of Hong Kong.
Even a relatively gentle fall can cause a fracture, and the vertebrae in the spine can collapse, leading to an exaggerated forward rounding of the back, or kyphosis. The most common fracture sites, Ngai says, are the hip, the wrist and spine.
The structure of our bones resembles a honeycomb. When they become less dense, the holes in the “honeycomb” grow bigger, making the bone weaker and increasing the risk of sudden bone fractures.
The older a person is, the more at risk they are, says Hong Kong orthopaedic surgeon Dr Jason Brockwell. But that doesn’t mean you have to be old to suffer, he says, noting that we usually reach peak bone mass at about 35 years of age. After that, it gradually declines.
“If you are lucky enough to live to a good age, you will run into osteoporosis,” he says ahead of World Osteoporosis Day on October 20.