While you are currently at moderate risk, you may be experiencing minor aches or pains, have decreased prefomance and have started to lose height and have hunching of your spine. Progressive bone loss is very likely if not inevitable as you age further increasing your risk for pain, suffering and disfunction that arise with bone loss. Many people lump bone loss and osteoporosis into the classification of arthritis which is also common. However, the treatments for arthritis beyond pain medications are few whereas there are many good treatments available to reverse bone loss. Even though this screen classifies you as at moderate risk it is impossible to accurately access ones bone mineral density with any written screen. One needs a DEXA bone density to best access ones current bone status and osteoporosis risk.

FACTS AND STATISTICS
Early bone loss is often silent
Bone loss is inevitable
Aesthetic loss and decreased performance occur at younger ages than fractures.
All men and women are at risk.

Early bone loss is often silent.
     Many aches and pains, back pains attributed to over use or strain could be early warning signs of bone loss in young adults. Since individuals old or young have no reference for what some one else feels, or what normal discomfort is for a given amount of exercise we all tend to over look these early warning signs of bone loss.

Bone loss is inevitable
     If you live to be 70 statistically most will have significant bone loss. All one needs to do is to think of any 70 year old, even the most active one, and they will notice that they do not look or preform as well as an average young adult. However, by minimizing bone loss many people will be better able to maintain that same level of performance they had when they were young at age 70.

Aesthetic loss and decreased performance occur at younger ages than fractures.
     Other reasons to find out your current bone density include early prevention of pain, lost function, and the aesthetic losses bone loss produces. While many doctors do not mention them these are often more important to individuals than the extreme consequence of fracture. Fractures usually occur in old age, but pain and lost performance can occur now. Loss of teeth which sit in bone and need for dentures, the slow progression of curvature in the spine, and lost height are other issues many would prefer to avoid.

All men and women are at risk.
     While this screen shows that you have moderate risk of having significant bone loss, it does not quantify how much bone you have lost. People can have significant bone loss, and have no or few symptoms. Our suggestion is to discuss bone loss with your doctor or an osteoporosis specialist and establish a prevention plan to prevent bone loss starting with a DEXA bone density test.

PREVENTION AND TREATMENT
     While we can not give you a plan, a DEXA bone density test is essential for determining your bone density now. If it is higher than average you will sleep better and may decide with your doctor to defer further tests for several years. If on the other hand your bone density is less than average for your age which occurs in 50 % of the people, then your compliance with a prevention plan will be heightened knowing that your bone density is already less than average, and that you are much more likely to age, have increased aches and pains, and have a lower function, than others of your age. The DEXA is the basis for the plan.

Why haven't I heard of this before?
What is a prevention or treatment plan
When to start?

Why haven't I heard of this before?
     Some doctors say that the test will not change my treatment and all should "JUST" take calcium anyway so the DEXA is not needed. However the frequency of future tests is a variable that would change based on the results of the initial DEXA as would the work up for the causes of bone loss and the medications prescribed including the dose of calcium offered if the bone density is low. Many specialists would check other blood tests, review the diet, behavior, on medications much more closely if the bone density were low. Fortunately, there are many prescription medications as well as enviromental treatments including exercise, diet and vitamin supplements available to treat even moderate bone loss. For more advanced bone loss some speciaists even prescribe more than one medication to increase bone density more quickly. However all medications should be taken while under a doctor's supervision as part of a structured bone loss prevention plan that includes provisions to maximize function and minimize falls.

What is a prevention or treatment plan.
     We use this term to describe a complex plan that includes many different modalities of treatment including :
- Prescription medication
- blood test and DEXA bone density monitoring,
- using enviromental therapies and adaptive devices to improve function and maximize pain control.
- behavior counseling to modify risky behaviors like drinking and smoking,
- exercise to improve over all wellness, strength, and ability to adapt when one is injured, and minimize falls.
- diet to maximize calcium and vitamin intake without worsening weight gain (many calcium rich foods are also calorie rich ),
- finally, reasurrance that bone loss and osteoporosis as  well as the disabilities that resulted from it are largely reversible if one attacks bone loss from this broad comprehensive base.

When to start?
     It is never to late or early to start. Being informed early and having the plan in place goes a long way to staying active and well. .

Return to Main Osteoporosis Screening Page