Calcitonin has the opposite effect of parathyroid hormone, it decreases calcium absorption. Osteoporosis is the result of long-term calcium imbalance. Over a period of decades, calcium is robbed from bones to maintain blood levels if dietary or absorption levels are not adequate. Clinical Signs of Osteoporosis Osteoporosis causes a decrease in bone density. This decrease is not normally diagnosed by X-ray analysis or normal medical examination until it is well advanced.
Bone fracture is one of the most common ways of realizing osteoporosis is a problem.
The most common sites of fracture are the wrist, hip, and vertebrae. The vertebrae fractures can be the most painful and debilitating. Clinical tests for abnormal bone metabolism are variable in their reliability. Blood and urine can be analyzed for abnormal calcium levels or the products of bone destruction. However, these tests are not always reliable.