As you age, medical ailments affect you. The skeletal structure that supports you goes through considerable changes during your lifetime.
The amount of flexibility and strength you once enjoyed begins to leave you as you get older. What causes your bones to deteriorate with time?
Falling bone mineral density
The osteoporosis joint disease affects your bones’ vulnerability to breakage. When your body begins to reabsorb the calcium and phosphate from your bones, it eventually leads to brittle bones.
As your bones become porous, they become weak and fragile. Age-related bone loss is a gradual decline, resulting in a fall in bone mineral density. The changing structure and composition of your bones increase the incidence of osteoporosis.
Osteoporosis makes older adults prone to breakages in their wrist, hip, and spine. Affecting 5.1 percent of men and 24.5 percent of women over the age of 65, this disease is a leading cause of low bone mass.
Osteopenia is a related disease. Although the loss of bone mineral density is not as low for people who experience this, it’s a gradual slope of deterioration to osteoporosis.
Hormonal changes
The National Osteoporosis Foundation reports that 80 percent of the 10 million Americans experiencing osteoporosis are women. This leads to the conclusion that a changing hormonal balance during menopause is a leading cause of the degenerative disease.
Estrogen protects bone strength, so a sharp reduction in this hormone results in a loss of minerals in the bone tissue. Women lose up to 20 percent of their bone density within the first seven years after menopause.
Degenerative changes
Affecting almost 27 million Americans, Osteoarthritis is a common chronic condition of the joints. Sometimes known as the “wear and tear” arthritis, this condition can affect anyone. However, owing to overusing joints, it’s still prevalent in older adults.
In osteoarthritis, the lubricating cartilage between the bones breaks down resulting in friction between the bones causing swelling, pain and more limited movement.
As people age, this continued joint friction caused by osteoarthritis takes a toll on their bones causing them to chip off and break down of bones.
The deterioration of your musculoskeletal system is an inevitable aspect of aging. However, it’s important to remember that there’s a lot that can be done to alleviate the pain and discomfort you’re experiencing.
At Houston Physicians’ Hospital, our multi-faceted treatments provide personalized care especially for you and your specific condition. Our innovative approach to advanced treatments helps patients with a variety of bone diseases and conditions.
Visit our Spine or Arthritis specialists in Webster, Texas, today and let our experts in the Orthopedic Center of Excellence, Orthopedics, and Physical Therapy departments provide the proper diagnosis and treatment programs as well as surgeries using state-of-the-art technology.