Over the past decade we have begun to hear a lot more about osteoporosis as a silent disease and what can be done about it, which is a very positive step. The down side is that there is a lot of misinformation circulating. A common definition of osteoporosis is a disease in which a person loses bone, which can be a confusing explanation if a person doesn't know the biology of bone formation, she notes. Through a complicated process called the bone remodeling cycle, bone constantly is being created and maintained throughout life. As we age, this process changes and we break down more bone than we make.
Many factors determine bone mass, with age, sex, race, and genetics as most important.
With current medical technology, osteoporosis can be detected through a bone mass measurement, taken through scanning techniques such as ultrasound. Current drug treatments for the disease focus on reducing bone loss by slowing the change in bone mass. The most common bone fractures of osteoporosis occur in the vertebrae, back, hip, forearm, or wrist. One of the most serious is a hip fracture, which usually results from a fall. While the fracture can heal normally, the accident often sets in motion a cascade of other health problems that are accelerated because of the person's age.