First, osteoporosis – the culprit of low back pain in middle-aged and elderly friends. Many middle-aged and elderly friends have symptoms of low back pain, and in serious cases, they even have difficulty turning over, sitting, standing and walking, and lose their ability to work or even to take care of themselves, which seriously affects their quality of life. Some patients have long been treated according to herniated disc, lumbar muscle strain, rheumatism and other diseases, spending a lot of manpower and material resources, but with little success. They do not realize that the real cause of the disease is osteoporosis. Second, what is osteoporosis? Osteoporosis is a common disease among the elderly, and it is a pathological condition caused by the reduction of calcium salts and organic matter in bone tissue due to the disorder of bone metabolism caused by various reasons, which is characterized by painful bones and easy fracture. According to some statistics, nearly one-third of women over 45 years old suffer from osteoporosis of different severity, while the prevalence of osteoporosis in women over 75 years old is as high as over 90%. Third, why are older people prone to osteoporosis? Clinical studies have found that men are prone to osteoporosis after the age of 55 and women after menopause, for reasons that have not been clarified. It may be related to the reduced estrogen level in postmenopausal women. Age-related osteoporosis may be related to aging, low sex hormone levels, inadequate calcium intake, weakened anabolic stimulation of protein, and reduced osteoblast function and bone formation. Therefore, senile osteoporosis is actually a manifestation of the aging process of the body, especially in the bone tissue where it is most prominent. Fourth, what are the symptoms of osteoporosis? (1) Pain is the most common symptom, with low back pain being the most common, accounting for 70%-80% of the patients with pain. The pain spreads along the spine to both sides, decreases when lying on the back or sitting, increases when posterior extension or prolonged standing or sitting, is light during the day, increases at night and early morning when waking up, and increases when bending, muscle movement, coughing and bowel movement. (2) Shortening of body length and hunchback. Mostly occurs after pain. The anterior part of the vertebrae of the spine is almost mostly composed of cancellous bones, and this part is the pillar of the body, which is heavy and easily compressed and deformed, causing the spine to tilt forward and the back curve to increase, forming a hunchback, and the hunchback curve will gradually increase as we age and osteoporosis increases. (3) Fracture. The vertebrae in the thoracolumbar segment are most likely to appear. This is the most common and serious complication of degenerative osteoporosis. V. What should I do if I have severe low back pain? Although elderly people with osteoporosis should strictly avoid lifting and carrying heavy objects in daily life, even so, many elderly people develop osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures without obvious trauma. At this time, there can be obvious pain in the lower back, and when the pain is severe, it is impossible to turn over, get out of bed, sit, stand or walk, which seriously affects daily life and is very painful. The traditional view is that this fracture is a benign disease and should be treated conservatively with bed rest, oral painkillers and calcium supplements. Some patients with mild cases can be relieved with this treatment, but most patients recover very slowly and are bedridden for a long time because there is no effective treatment. This results in a series of problems such as limb muscle atrophy, further loss of skeletal calcium, increased osteoporosis, decreased quality of life, and lung infections, which ultimately leads to increased mortality.