Osteoporosis is a systemic skeletal disease characterized by a decrease in bone mass and deterioration of bone microstructure, resulting in increased brittleness of bone and susceptibility to fracture. International Osteoporosis Day is celebrated on October 20 every year.
Causes
Osteoporosis, also known as the “modern disease”, is closely related to people’s poor lifestyles. Other causes should not be ignored.
The first is the dietary factors.
1, diet structure is not reasonable: calcium is the most abundant and important mineral in the human body, accounting for 2% of body weight, 99% of which exists in the bones. The calcium in the human body before birth comes from the mother, after birth mainly by nutritional absorption, food containing little calcium is bound to cause insufficient intake. Calcium-rich foods are milk, fish, shrimp, celery, spinach, cabbage, and various soy products.
2, long-term heavy drinking and alcoholics, bone will become osteoporotic. Long-term heavy drinking, the liver is damaged, the function is reduced, resulting in abnormal metabolism of nutrients. In addition, drinking alcohol will inevitably be high fat food intake, which can cause an imbalance in the body’s calcium nutrient metabolism, not only can affect the absorption of calcium in food, and can make a large number of bone calcium “migration” and urinary calcium excretion increased significantly, resulting in a serious calcium deficiency in the bones, eventually leading to osteoporosis.
3, smoking, drinking coffee, diet taste too into, can lead to calcium absorption disorders.
4, eating too much acidic food, more and more scientific research has confirmed that the normal environment of the human body is weakly alkaline, that is, when the PH value of body fluids is maintained between 7.35-7.45, is healthy. However, because of the influence of diet, living habits, surroundings and emotions, human body fluids often tend to be acidic, especially when the body consumes a lot of high protein, high sugar, etc. In order to maintain the acid-base balance of body fluids, the body will use alkaline substances in the body to neutralize these acidic substances. The most abundant alkaline substance in the body is calcium, which is present in large quantities in the bones. Then, when eating a lot of acidic food, the body will naturally consume the calcium in the bones to neutralize the acidity and alkalinity of the blood to maintain the acid-base balance. Therefore, acidic body is an important cause of calcium loss and osteoporosis.
The second is insufficient exposure to sunlight
Vitamin D is an essential nutrient that helps the body absorb calcium. Without it, more calcium in food will not be absorbed. The source of vitamin D is not too extensive, but under the ultraviolet radiation of sunlight, the body can use the absorbed raw material to convert itself into manufacturing. Therefore, generally speaking, as long as you regularly engage in appropriate outdoor activities and receive sunlight, you will not be deficient in vitamin D. However, some people in modern society, because of the nature of their work (such as long night shifts, underground work), or work and live in high-rise buildings all day, and go out to the car for walking, too few opportunities to receive sunlight exposure, resulting in insufficient vitamin D in the body, affecting calcium absorption, resulting in osteoporosis.
The third is the reduction of exercise
The function of the skeletal system is to bear weight and exercise, the more activities, the more developed the muscles, the more calcium absorption of bones, and become strong. We know that astronauts in space to eat “space food”, rich and balanced nutrition, of course, will not lack of calcium and vitamin D. But in the “weightless” state of life for several months, its bone loss is quite alarming. Therefore, they must try to physical exercise in space, through muscle contraction, so that the bones under stress, in order to prevent muscle atrophy and osteoporosis. This shows how important exercise is to maintain bone density. Modern life is becoming more and more comfortable, physical labor is more replaced by machinery, if you do not pay attention to exercise, osteoporosis will be difficult to avoid.
The fourth is genetic factors
There is considerable evidence that osteoporosis is closely related to genetic factors. However, as we age, the genetic factor gradually decreases, while the influence of environmental factors increases.
Fifth is the drug factor
Older people suffer from more or less certain diseases, some every now and then, some even take drugs all year round, and some drugs are the triggering factors of osteoporosis. According to statistics, this part of the patients account for about 8% to 15% of the whole osteoporosis patients, it is worth to pay attention to. These drugs are mainly: synthetic adrenal glucocorticoids such as prednisolone and adrenocorticotropin-releasing hormone (ACTH), heparin (anticoagulant), thyroid hormone, etc. Anti-epileptic drugs such as sodium phenytoin and phenobarbital can promote vitamin D degradation and cause osteoporosis. In addition, certain diuretics, anticancer drugs and isoniazid may also affect bone metabolism and lead to osteoporosis.
Osteoporosis symptoms
The first is pain: more than half of the patients with osteoporosis have pain, mainly multiple and generalized, the most common is low back pain, there is also pain in the shoulder and back, neck or wrist and ankle, the patient is not easy to say what causes the pain, the pain can occur when lying down or turning over, the symptoms are sometimes mild and heavy; this is a pre-symptom of osteoporosis.
The second is skeletal deformation: hunchback and short stature; this phenomenon generally occurs in the elderly, for example, some elderly people will inexplicably be several centimeters shorter than when they were young, but generally do not attract attention.
The third is fracture: this is the most common and serious complication of degenerative osteoporosis. Fractures of the spine, wrist (distal radius) and hip (femoral neck) are common. Of the vertebral fractures, they are often compression, wedge-shaped fractures that flatten and deform the entire vertebrae, which is one of the reasons for the short stature of the elderly. Osteoporosis leads to fractures, which can significantly increase the rate of death and disability in the elderly. The fourth is the decrease of respiratory function: compression fractures of thoracic and lumbar vertebrae, backward curvature of the spine and deformation of the thorax can significantly reduce the lung capacity and maximum air exchange, and patients can often experience chest tightness, shortness of breath and difficulty in breathing.
Osteoporosis treatment
(I) Dietary treatment.
The key to dietary treatment is to arrange the diet structure reasonably. The elderly should consume more food rich in calcium, phosphorus, vitamins and protein to make up for the deficiency of substances related to bone metabolism in the body. Dietary treatment is valuable in the long-term, reasonable regulation of diet and persistent, a short period of overeating is not only unhelpful but harmful to the body.
(B) Drug treatment
Drug treatment principles.
①Increase the content of bone matrix and bone minerals in the bone path.
②Prevent and reduce the decomposition of bone mass and promote its synthesis.
③ Relieve or alleviate the pain and discomfort caused by osteoporosis.
(C) Physiotherapy
Physiotherapy, referred to as physical therapy, is the action of modern physical therapy instruments such as electricity, light and sound on the human body and bone pathways to promote the synthesis of bone pathways. It mainly includes ultrasonic wave, ultrashort wave, magnetic therapy, heat therapy, etc.
(IV) Psychotherapy
The severity of symptoms of various diseases (including osteoporosis) is closely related to the psychological state of a person. Those who have a broad mind, happy mood and open-minded character tend to have lighter symptoms and better treatment effect; those who have a narrow mind, eccentric character and depressed mood often have heavier symptoms and poorer treatment effect. Therefore, the adjustment of psychological state is increasingly important.
Osteoporosis prevention
Increase the intake of calcium.
People of all ages should pay attention to their calcium intake, and should supplement calcium by eating more calcium-containing foods. Milk, bone broth, seafood and green leafy vegetables are rich in calcium ions that can be absorbed by the body, so eating more of these foods will help increase calcium intake.
Maintain adequate protein intake.
Protein is the basic unit of human tissue cells and plays a great role in the maintenance of the bone matrix. People in middle and old age should ensure that the body’s protein nutritional needs are met and that sufficient food protein is consumed. Eggs, lean meat, milk, beans, fish and shrimp are all high-protein foods, which should be reasonably matched to ensure supply.
Reduce the intake of acidic food
Acidic body is an important cause of calcium loss and osteoporosis. Meat is an acidic food
Develop a good habit of not smoking and drinking less alcohol.
The harmful substances and toxins in alcohol and tobacco can cause poisoning and destruction of osteoblasts, resulting in lower bone mass and osteoporosis.
Participate in more sports.
Adhere to the exercise can increase the absorption of calcium to enhance the strength of the bone and bone mass.
Usually more sunshine.
The ultraviolet rays of sunlight irradiating the skin can cause a series of reactions in the body, forming active vitamin D, which promotes calcium absorption.