While it’s normal to lose height as you get older, rheumatologists draw attention to people who lose more than 4 centimeters. This could be the consequence of a vertebral fracture, itself linked to osteoporosis, a disease that causes bone fragility in some patients over 50.
- Height loss can be a sign of osteoporosis
- Beyond 4 centimeters, it is advisable to make X-rays of the spine and possibly a bone densitometry
Pinching of the discs, rotations of the vertebrae, weakening of the muscles, bad statics or posture… If the loss of size is considered as “normal” during aging, it can also be indicative of osteoporosis, a disease causing bone fragility in some people over the age of 50.
“The loss that catches our attention is the threshold of 4 centimetersindicates to why doctor Professor Karine Briot, rheumatologist at the Cochin hospital in Paris, specifying that no shortcuts should be taken; it is not because one has lost height that one suffers from osteoporosis. It is not a sign of osteoporosis in itself, it is perhaps that we will find a vertebral fracture, which is therefore a consequence of osteoporosis, which would explain the loss of height “.
Indeed, having had a vertebral fracture significantly increases the risk of having a second one, above or below, and of sometimes accumulating two to three fractures. Consequence: the person concerned begins to bend slightly forward, which hurts his spine, causing a loss of height.
“In the follow-up of osteoporosis, the height board is the essential tool”
Since a vertebral fracture is generally painless, it is important to get measured in order to find it and detect osteoporosis. “In the follow-up of this disease, the measuring rod is the essential tool”, assures Professor Karine Briot. If the loss of 4 centimeters is noted, the patient will be prescribed an X-ray of the entire column, dorsal and lumbar. “If a fracture is found, it is considered a sign of bone fragility, osteoporosis”continues the rheumatologist.
It is then advisable to consult a doctor, who will carry out a bone densitometry in order to measure the calcium content of the bones, then a blood test. “Normally he will give the patient a medicine to strengthen the bonessays the health professional. Because, if there is already a vertebral fracture, it is extremely important to prevent the others”.
Confusion between vertebral compression and fracture; a frequent risk
Be careful though; it is advisable not to ask the patient about the height he measured when he was between 18 and 20 years old – this is the maximum height, used as a reference – but to ask to see the follow-up of his height. In question: numerous studies showing that, generally, when someone is asked how tall they are, they will always tend to add 1 to 2 centimeters.
“You shouldn’t believe people, you have to measure them; the height chart, the monitoring of the size, is essentialinsists the rheumatologist. Especially since it’s one of the ways, as we can’t do X-rays for everyone, to find vertebral fractures”.
Sometimes x-rays themselves are a problem in screening for osteoporosis. Professor Karine Briot thus evokes certain radiologists, who tend to mention a “vertebral compaction”rather than a fracture, and who attribute it to age rather than requiring further investigation. “Often it is seen on the radio but it is not mentioned on the report; you have to be very careful about it”alerts the health professional.
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