Battling Osteoporosis

(HealthScout) -- The notion that aging and osteoporosis go hand in hand can be shattered with some key lifestyle changes, doctors say.

Changing a few habits can reduce the risk of osteoporosis-related fractures by as much as 50 percent, they say.

Osteoporosis is a disorder that weakens the bones, so the plan of attack focuses on strengthening the bones, and increasing bone density. One of the most effective ways of doing that, say experts, is simply through regular exercise.

"Exercise is as good as any treatment you can do for a patient in fighting osteoporosis," says Dr. Thomas P. Sculco, a professor of clinical surgery at Weill Medical College of Cornell University in New York.

The importance of exercise for bone health is perhaps best illustrated by looking at what happens to bones in an environment without gravity, he adds.

"If you take a normal person and put them in space, their bones would decalcify because the force of gravity is not pulling on the bone," he explains.

Starting as early as their 20s, women should also be aware of the importance of getting enough calcium and vitamin D -- both essential nutrients in preventing bone density loss, say experts.

In addition to lifestyle and diet issues, genetics are believed to play a big role in who is more likely to suffer from osteoporosis, but Sculco says taking the right measures can even help those people.

"Northern European, fair-skinned, post-menopausal women of low body weight typically have a higher incidence of osteoporosis than the Southern Europeans, for example. But even with the component, you can delay or lessen the condition with a good supervised program of nutrition and exercise that loads the bone. Not necessarily with heavy weight lifting, but simple lightweight free weights."

But for those who've already hit middle age and have bone loss, there are effective drugs on the market to actually help rebuild bone density.

"Drugs called anti-resorptive agents that are available today are very effective in not just stopping bone loss, but in often increasing density," says Dr. Paul S. Jellinger, president of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists.

Jellinger emphasizes the importance of older women having their bone density tested, however, so they can find out exactly what measures they need to take.

"This is a silent disease in which there are virtually no symptoms until you actually sustain a fracture, so it's very important to have your bone density tested," he says.

He cites figures showing that as many as 80 percent of the 22 million women at risk of bone loss, either through genetics or poor nutrition or lack of exercise, aren't even aware they have a problem.

"It's also important to note that it's never too late -- you don't take a 75-year-old patient and say 'What do you expect? Your bones are thin.' That kind of thinking is 25 years old. These days, even at 75 you can stop the loss and often even improve bone density," he says.

Learn more about osteoporosis at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and at the Osteoporosis Foundation.

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