Osteoporosis is an intriguing and largely misunderstood health condition. Intriguing because it turns out that it is not exclusively the domain of older women, it can strike woman as young as those in their mid 30’s. Osteoporosis is misunderstood because there are specific preventative measure that can be implemented to significantly minimise the damage this condition can inflict.
Osteoporosis involves both the mineral, predominantly calcium and the non-mineral, organic, mainly collagen protein components of the bones. It is characterised by bones that have become porous and therefore weakened and brittle, and because of the insidious nature, many sufferers are not even aware that they have the condition until they actually break a bone, although people will have been experiencing aches and pains, for example back ache. Bones are a living tissue that is continually being broken down by cells called osteoclasts and then rebuilt by osteoblasts. Osteoporosis occurs when, for a variety of reasons there is an imbalance between the osteoclasts and osteoblasts causing more bone mass to be broken down than is being rebuilt. So what can you do to maintain strong bones? More information in the main article.