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Be alert to the signs
It is estimated that there are 800,000 people with osteoporosis in the Netherlands. About 70 percent of them don’t know this. One in four women over the age of 55 will develop osteoporosis, but it can also affect men. Fortunately, there are ways to prevent or reduce osteoporosis. It is important to be aware of the signals yourself.
Osteoporosis is a disease of the skeleton in which bone strength decreases. This is due to a decrease in bone density and a deterioration of bone structure. The bone thus becomes both lighter and weaker. The decrease in bone strength increases the risk of damage to the bones.
The consequence of osteoporosis is that bones break more quickly, especially those of the wrist and hip. The treatment of osteoporosis is similar to that of a high bloodpressure. Most patients are not bothered by it until they experience the effects, in this case a broken bone.
Research
To see how the care regarding osteoporosis is in our country, UMC Utrecht and the Osteoporosis Association recently conducted a large-scale online research executed. More than 1,400 people with osteoporosis took part.
The results show that there is still room for improvement. For example, 21 percent of patients found that their medication – such as vitamin D and bisphosphonate – not faithfully. Incidentally, the same study showed that a quarter of the patients never received vitamin D and around 1 in 5 never bisphosphonate has been prescribed.
Talk to your doctor
Around half of the osteoporosis patients experience obstacles as a result of this disease, and more than a quarter are dissatisfied with the information provided. Many people do not know how important osteoporosis treatment is and what the consequences are if they are not treated. So it is important that doctors spend more time providing information about osteoporosis. Insist on more information yourself if you feel that the doctor is lacking in this or if you do not understand something.
What else can you do yourself?
An important point is nutrition. Vitamin D and calcium are indispensable for healthy bones. Calcium is found in dairy products such as milk, yogurt and cheese. Vitamin D – which promotes the absorption of calcium – is found in margarine, low-fat margarine, meat, eggs, full-fat cheese and fatty fish. When a healthy, varied diet is not sufficient, supplementation can help maintain vitamin D and calcium levels. If you are unsure about your calcium levels, talk to your doctor about this. A lot of exercise is also important, so that the bone tissue remains strong.
Fall prevention
About half of the participants in the aforementioned study had fallen in the previous year. Attention to the prevention of falls is therefore one of the important points in the treatment of osteoporosis. The fear of breaking something is great, and rightly so. In the Netherlands, hospitals annually register 16,000 hip fractures, 16,000 wrist and forearm fractures and 15,000 vertebral fractures.
Fall prevention can offer a solution here. There are exercise programs that teach you to walk more in balance and learn to fall ‘right’, so that the chance of a fracture is reduced. Sometimes simple advice is sufficient, for example getting up slowly to dizziness to decrease.
bone density measurement
Anyone aged 50 and older who breaks something is considered to have a bone density measurement, a so-called DEXA scan, to make. You can ask your doctor if you qualify for this. If you have not broken anything but are over 60 and have a family history of osteoporosis, you often fall, use prednisone or have a low body weight, you may also qualify for such a bone density measurement.
Check the signals
It is important, especially if you are over fifty, to remain alert to the signs of osteoporosis. Think of frequent falls (whereby something is possibly broken), but also sudden onset pain or a chronic dull pain in the back. If this is the case, always discuss this with your doctor, so that a bone density measurement can be done if necessary.
Facts
• Globally, one in 3 women and one in 7 men over the age of 60 will develop osteoporosis
• More than 800,000 people in the Netherlands have osteoporosis
• Osteoporosis data is not kept in people under 55 years of age, but it does occur in young people.
• 70 percent of people with osteoporosis do not know they have it.
• 80 percent of people with osteoporosis who are diagnosed are not adequately treated with anti-osteoporosis drugs
• Research shows that most cases of osteoporosis are only discovered when something is broken.
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