Osteoporosis - Causes, Complications and Management

Osteoporosis is a condition that makes the bone fragile, thin and weak. Read about its causes, complications and management in this article.

Running head: OSTEOPOROSIS
OSTEOPOROSIS
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Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is also termed as “porous bones”, which is considered as the condition
that makes the bone fragile, thin and weak. Due to fragile bone, any minute accident or bump
can result in fracture and hence might lead to chronic pain. Premature death and loss of
independence. The reduced bone density is the primary cause that result in the condition of
osteoporosis. The bone density decreases when the bone losses the essential mineral like
calcium and thus alter the quality of the bone. In Australia, osteoporosis affects every 1 in 4
people aged more than 75 years (Mitchell et al., 2015). According to the National Health
Survey, approximately 924,000 Australian population are suffering from the condition of
osteoporosis, out of which 20% of the population are more than 50 years of age. It is
established that the older population are more susceptible towards the condition of
osteoporosis and is also more prevalent among the women as compared to the men. The
condition of osteoporosis increase with age, because the bone density naturally decrease and
hence affect large number of older population. Osteoporosis also affects the patient’s quality
of life and can result in some serious health complications (Australian Institute of Health and
Welfare, 2019).
Risk factors of osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is considered as the skeleton disorder and are associated with various
risk factors, which can either be modifiable or non-modifiable risk factors. Hence, the factors
that increase the threat or risk of obtaining osteoporosis are as follows (Cauley et al., 2016):
 Gender- Women are more prone to develop the condition of osteoporosis as
compared to men, because the body structure of women are small and they also have
thin bones, which arm pre fragile as compared to men. Hence, the risk of obtaining
osteoporosis is more prevalent among the women.

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 Poor nutrition- Poor nutrition is directly related to the condition of osteoporosis, as
the patient is not consuming any food which can maintain the essential nutrient sin
their body.
 Poor lifestyle- Consumption of caffeine, alcohol and smoking tobacco or cigarette
smoking increases the risk of obtaining osteoporosis among the older population.
 Immobility and inactivity- The patient who do not perform any physical exercise or
live a sedentary lifestyle is under the great risk of developing the condition of
osteoporosis (Wiklund et al., 2016).
 Vitamin D deficiency- The patient with low level of vitamin D are also under risk as
their body fail to absorbs the essential amount of calcium which therefore increases
the prevalence of osteoporosis.
Complication of osteoporosis
The condition of osteoporosis is associated with different types of health
complication, which is responsible for deteriorating the health condition of the patient.
Hence, it is very essential for the healthcare professional to focus on reducing the health
complication for a better life. The health complication associated with osteoporosis are as
follows (Jimenez et al., 2018):
 Limited mobility- The condition of osteoporosis can result in reduced physical
activity and might also lead to disability in the patient. Limited mobility can therefore
increases the bone stress specifically in hips and knees and therefore result in weight
gain. Weight gain will therefor directly lead to condition such as diabetes and heart
diseases.
 Depression- Reduced physical activity might directly lead to the condition of
isolation and loss of independence that will affect the emotional strength of the patient

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and result in depression or psychological distress. The inability of the patient to
manage their life and daily activities will affect their mental state and they can suffer
from mild depression.
 Chronic pain- The condition of osteoporosis often leads to fracture that are very
debilitating and painful can therefor result in neck pain or persistent back pain,
stooping posture and loss of height.
 Other complication- The other health complication associated with osteoporosis
includes the risk of infectious disease or illness, cardiovascular complication, spinal
compression fracture long-term disability (Zhou et al., 2017).
Management of osteoporosis
The management of osteoporosis among the older population focus and concentrate
on the pharmacological and non-pharmacological intervention, because the condition of
osteoporosis cannot be completely cured and can only be managed by the patient. Effective
management of the osteoporosis condition will aim in enhancing the morbidity and mortality
rate related to fracture among the older population and also aim to prevent any further
fracture or health complication due to osteoporosis. The non-pharmacological management of
osteoporosis are as follows (Li et al., 2017):
 Exercise programs- the risk factors associated with osteoporosis such as impaired
balance and muscle weakness can be improved and modified by exercising. The
balancing and strength training can be used to improve the fall risk among the older
population and thus is one of the most effective intervention to manage the risk of
osteoporosis in the older population.
 Fall prevention and risk assessment- The healthcare professional must educate the
patient to adapt the strategies that will help them to reduce the fall risk and adapt the

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fall prevention program that includes multidisciplinary risk factor valuation,
participating in the exercise program and medication review.
 Hip protectors- Hip protectors will help the older people to reduce the risk of fall or
fracture and support them to gain stability and balance while performing any routine
activity.
The pharmacological management of osteoporosis are as follows (Sozen, Ozışık & Basaran,
2017):
 Vitamin D and calcium intake- Calcium deficiency is directly associated with the
condition of osteoporosis and hence consumption of vitamin D and calcium
supplements will help them to maintain the essential nutrients in their body.
 Strontium Ranelate- Strontium Ranelate will help the patient to reduce the threat of
non-vertebral and vertebral fractures among the older women population.
 Bisphosphonates- Consumption of bisphosphonates will assist the patient to prevent
the condition of fracture and also help in avoiding any gastrointestinal adverse health
condition.
Conclusion
Hence, it is established that the older population are more prevalent towards
developing the condition of osteoporosis and hence they must be educated by the healthcare
professionals to adapt the effective intervention that will help the older population to manage
their life. This study has concluded that the patient must adapt the pharmacological and non-
pharmacological intervention to manage their health and lead a healthy life.

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References
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2019). Osteoporosis, What is osteoporosis? -
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Retrieved 15 September 2019, from
https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/chronic-musculoskeletal-conditions/osteoporosis/
contents/what-is-osteoporosis
Cauley, J. A., Cawthon, P. M., Peters, K. E., Cummings, S. R., Ensrud, K. E., Bauer, D. C., ...
& Kado, D. M. (2016). Risk factors for hip fracture in older men: the osteoporotic
fractures in men study (MrOS). Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, 31(10), 1810-
1819.
Jiménez-Mola, S., Calvo-Lobo, C., Idoate-Gil, J., & Seco-Calvo, J. (2018). Functionality,
comorbidity, complication & surgery of hip fracture in older adults by age
distribution. Revista da Associação Médica Brasileira, 64(5), 420-427.
Li, G., Thabane, L., Papaioannou, A., Ioannidis, G., Levine, M. A., & Adachi, J. D. (2017).
An overview of osteoporosis and frailty in the elderly. BMC musculoskeletal
disorders, 18(1), 46.
Mitchell, R. J., Lord, S. R., Harvey, L. A., & Close, J. C. (2015). Obesity and falls in older
people: mediating effects of disease, sedentary behavior, mood, pain and medication
use. Archives of gerontology and geriatrics, 60(1), 52-58.
Sözen, T., Özışık, L., & Başaran, N. Ç. (2017). An overview and management of
osteoporosis. European journal of rheumatology, 4(1), 46.
Wiklund, R., Toots, A., Conradsson, M., Olofsson, B., Holmberg, H., Rosendahl, E., ... &
Littbrand, H. (2016). Risk factors for hip fracture in very old people: a population-
based study. Osteoporosis International, 27(3), 923-931.
Zhou, J., Qin, M. Z., Liu, Q., & Liu, J. P. (2017). Investigation and analysis of osteoporosis,
falls, and fragility fractures in elderly people in the Beijing area: a study on the bone

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health status of elderly people≥ 80 years old with life self-care. Archives of
osteoporosis, 12(1), 108.