Forsyth Medical Center 
For All Women
Osteoporosis
| While osteoporosis is often thought of as an older person's disease, it can strike at any age. By age 20, the average woman has acquired 98% of her skeletal mass. Building strong bones in childhood and adolescence is an important defense. |
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Risk Factors for Osteoporosis
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You cannot feel or see your bones becoming weak, so osteoporosis is known as a "silent" disease. The bones become porous, and are therefore less dense or strong. In advanced stages, bones may break with the least amount of stress, such as lifting a bag of groceries or tugging on a stubborn door.
After the age of 30, women should talk to their health care professionals about osteoporosis. Older women should be particularly concerned as estrogen deficiency has been identified as a significant cause of accelerated bone loss in women during and after menopause.
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Do you have specific questions about osteoporosis? Visit our Health Library for answers. |
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Osteoporosis may be prevented or the risk reduced with proper diet, exercise and in some cases, medication.
The most widely known way to diagnose osteoporosis is the bone density test. There are several different kinds of bone density tests.
Bone loss cannot be replaced, but treatment and medications can prevent further bone loss.
