Exercise should be fun and convenient. Walking, for example, requires no special equipment or place, and it is an excellent way of applying stress and pressure to the long bones of the body. Any weight-bearing exercise done with regularity will benefit bone health. Before you begin an exercise program, talk to your physician to decide what may be right for you. The decrease in bone density caused by osteoporosis is not normally diagnosed by X-ray analysis or normal medical examination until it is well advanced.
Bone fracture is often the first sign that osteoporosis is a problem.
The most frequent sites of fracture are the wrist, hip, and spine. The spinal fractures can be the most painful and debilitating. The reliability of clinical tests for abnormal bone metabolism varies. Blood and urine can be analyzed for abnormal calcium levels or the products of bone destruction. However, osteoporotic women have tested normal in some studies.