What is Osteoporosis?

Osteoporosis, a chronic disease, causes your bones to become less thick and more brittle.  If you have osteoporosis, you run the risk of breaking a bone if you have a small accident or a fall.  Osteoporosis can be controlled with medicines to strengthen your bones and lifestyle modifications like how you exercise and quitting smoking.

Osteoporosis literally means “holes in the bones.”  It occurs when the bones loose minerals like calcium faster than the body can replace them.  There are typically no warning signs or symptoms – there are many people who are unaware they have osteoporosis until a fracture occurs.  Because of this, osteoporosis is frequently called as the “silent illness”.

Symptoms of Osteoporosis

The most typical symptom is fracturing or breaking a bone due to a mild injury, like falling over.  Other symptoms are:

• back pain
• gradual height loss
• little cracks in your bones, recognized as stress reactions or stress fractures, which can feel like muscle or joint pain

What causes Osteoporosis?

Osteoporosis happens due to a decrease in bone density that makes your bones more delicate and easily broken.  Everyone’s bones become weaker as they age.  However, in some people, this process occurs too quickly.  You are more susceptible to have this illness if you have risk factors for the illness.  Some of the risk factors can be lessened with lifestyle changes or medication but advancing years makes us more susceptible.

Prevention of osteoporosis

We can take steps to avoid this disease by making sure that we:

• eat calcium-rich foods
• avoid smoking
• have a healthy and varied diet with plenty of fresh fruit, vegetables and whole grains
• absorb enough vitamin D
• limit caffeine
• limit alcohol consumption
• do regular weight-bearing and strength-training activities.

Are you suffering from this condition or other foot problems?  At The Chelsea Clinic, we can help.  One of our podiatrist can assist and then recommend what treatments are best to get you back on track.   Podiatrist South Kensington

Schedule an appointment here or you may call us at 44 (0) 207 101 4000. 

We hope you have a feetastic day! 

-The Chelsea Clinic and Team

The Chelsea Clinic offers Osteopathy service, check it out here https://www.thechelseaclinic.uk/osteopathy/

Check our blog about Blue Toe Syndrome here https://www.thechelseaclinic.uk/blue-toe-syndrome/

Check our article about Annual Foot and Ankle Health Check Up https://www.thechelseaclinic.uk/annual-foot-and-ankle-health-check-up/