Medical Advices Blog

Archive for the ‘Osteoporosis’ Category

We have talked a lot about osteoporosis from the medical point of view but very little has been reflected on their possible effects on the psychological level. Osteoporosis, according to World Health Organization, affects 75 million people in Europe, Japan and the United States becoming a real health problem worldwide. The prevalence of osteoporosis increases with age, evidenced a prevalence of 15% between 50 and 59 years, 22% from 60 to 69 years and 70% for people over 80 years.

Clinicians say that for the time they are detected and diagnosed, most cases have already lost about 25% of bone mass. In women the prevalence is much higher due to hormonal changes that occur during the menopausal period. According to the European Vertebral Osteoporotic Study, approximately 32% of women older than 50 years had vertebral fractures throughout their lives. A figure that is hard to ignore.

Osteoporosis, beyond the usual brittle bones, it also causes curvature of the spine and bulging belly, clearly decreasing height. With these difficulties, the psychological impact of the disease is directed primarily to provoke feelings of helplessness and low self-esteem.

The body changes that are experienced as reduced body weight and height accompanied by increased belly ostensible mandate that the person must restructure their body image, a goal that is not always possible and causes the usual feelings of inadequacy and low self-esteem . The person starts to feel uncomfortable with your body, you realize that your image is transformed and needs to vary the concept he has of his physical. For most people this might not be a big problem, for others, on the contrary, it becomes a deep source of displeasure that triggers a series of negative feelings about herself and her image.

Moreover, bone fragility can cause strong feelings of helplessness. The person who until a few years or even months, is worth in itself, begins to feel pain and fatigue, the most unexpected movement may cause a break or sprain and you begin to raise awareness that “I’m not the same.” Given his fragile sense of helplessness appears colored by ideas of helplessness, hopelessness and fear.

However, it is not necessary to reach these extreme physical and psychological, as there are ways to guard against osteoporosis:

- Physical activity.

- Maintaining a healthy and balanced diet.

- Avoid alcohol, coffee and cola drinks.

- Getting enough vitamin D and calcium.

If prevention has not always come in time there are treatments that can improve the quality of life of people with osteoporosis, such as the Biological Traumatology practiced in the Trauma Clinic Vistahermosa in Alicante. Osteoporosis Treatment is based on the use of a platelet-rich plasma (also called growth factors), which accelerate the healing process of injuries of the body and promoting healing physical resources themselves. The improvements obtained with this type of treatment are observed quickly and the clinical procedure is minimally invasive.

Research conducted in the USP-Hospital Santa Teresa de La Coruña states that 82.3% of cases where therapy was used extracorporeal shock wave and plasma treatment were successful in the consolidation of long bones. However, it is noteworthy that studies on osteoporosis both from the standpoint of psychological or medical are relatively low when taking into account the high incidence of this disease.

People with osteoporosis are recommended:

Consult a physician about the need for densitometry to detect the presence of osteoporosis.

Exercise regularly. It is necessary that people, regardless of age, exercise, and can help reduce bone loss among other health benefits.

We recommend a moderate exercise program (three or four times a week), which can include walking, running, marching, climbing stairs, dancing and lifting weights. Read the rest of this entry »

There are several reasons that can lead to osteoporosis.

Here are some of the most common reasons that have been known to cause osteoporosis:

- Among women with estrogen deficiency (a group of hormones) postmenopause has been correlated with rapid reduction in BMD.
- The increased risk associated with aging, falls cause fractures wrist, spine and hip.
- Other hormone deficiency states can lead to osteoporosis, such as testosterone deficiency. Country excess glucocorticoid or thyroxine may also lead to osteoporosis.

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