Our bones are divided into two types: one is dense bone (or cortical bone), a tubular structure formed by the high-density, hard bone cortex, which forms a hollow bone marrow cavity, like a steel tube, such as the thigh bone; the other is cancellous bone (or trabecular bone), built from tiny bone trabeculae, a honeycomb structure, similar to light bricks, such as the vertebrae, femur, etc.. Such a structure makes the bones that is light and strong. When osteoporosis occurs, the cancellous bone is more severely affected: the trabeculae become slender and loose, the density of the bone decreases, and the strength decreases. 1.What is osteoporosis? Osteoporosis is professionally defined as a disorder of systemic bone metabolism with low bone mass, damaged bone microstructure, increased bone fragility, and increased risk of fracture. When osteoporosis occurs, bones become less strong, and bones like the vertebrae, which are not particularly hard but have been bearing weight for a long time, may be slowly flattened under continuous pressure, resulting in hunching, shortening of height (height can be shortened by 3-6 cm on average), “compression fractures” in severe cases, and chronic pain in the low back. In serious cases, “compression fractures” may occur, resulting in chronic pain in the lower back, as well as deformation of the thorax, causing symptoms such as chest tightness and shortness of breath; in the event of an inadvertent bump or fall, the force areas such as the radius (at the wrist), hip bone, femoral head, etc., are very likely to break and fracture. As the average human life span increases and more time is spent in old age, osteoporosis is becoming more and more common, with a current prevalence of about 40% to 50% among people over 60 years of age in China and about 80 million patients, osteoporosis has become one of the most important diseases affecting the quality of life of the elderly, and this brings a series of serious consequences such as fractures, bed rest and even death. Although osteoporosis has numerous symptoms and hazards, the onset is often a long process, silent and unnoticed. Let’s first look at the composition of bones. Bone is composed of organic matter (mainly collagen) and inorganic minerals (mainly calcium and phosphate). Organic matter is like the steel of a house, which provides the flexibility of bones, and inorganic minerals are like concrete, which provides the hardness of bones, so combined, bones are both hard and tough. 2.Why does osteoporosis occur? We start to build the house of bones from the embryonic period, and it is completely built around the age of 30, which is when the bones are the most robust and strong, medically called the peak of bone mass, and then the bone mass starts to gradually lose, just like a house slowly becomes old, the steel and cement gradually fall off and age, and the house becomes no longer strong. When the body begins to age, or when certain drugs are used, on the one hand, the breakdown of collagen protein may be greater than the synthesis, making the organic matter in the bones gradually decrease, and the bones become less tough; on the other hand, inorganic minerals in the bones, mainly calcium, begin to be lost, making the hardness of the bones also begin to decline. The loss of organic and inorganic substances in the bones, called bone loss, makes the bones no longer as strong as those of young people. These are the most common causes of age-related osteoporosis. In addition, in women, after menopause, the decrease in estrogen levels can also lead to osteoporosis, known as postmenopausal osteoporosis. Age-related osteoporosis and postmenopausal osteoporosis are most common in middle-aged and elderly people. In addition, secondary osteoporosis can be caused by long-term use of certain medications and can also occur in young people.