Osteoporosis Screening
- Matthew Rogers
- Aug 12, 2016
- 2 min read
It is estimated that around 3 million people in the UK have osteoporosis.
Screening and early diagnosis is critical, and osteopathy can help.
Osteoporosis is a condition in which the usually strong support struts that make up the inside of most bones becomes thinner, which can lead to bones becoming fragile and breaking easily, resulting in pain and disability.
In the UK, one in two women and one in five men over the age of 50 will fracture a bone, mainly due to poor bone health. But osteoporosis is often a silent condition, giving no pain or other symptoms to alert you to the fact until the worst happens and a bone breaks. As such, many people living with osteoporosis are unaware that they have fragile bones until this happens, sometimes with devastating consequences.
What causes Osteoporosis?
Those that smoke or drink in excess of the recommended daily alcohol intake are at greater risk, but gender, genetic factors, age, race and low body weight are all contributing factors.
How can Osteopathy help?
There is a lot you can do to prevent the condition, and to reduce your chance of breaking a bone if you do get it. Osteopaths are often seen by the general public as experts in the field of bone health, and as such, they are well placed to screen patients for this condition and offer practical advice on risk factors, prevention and treatment.
Your osteopath can screen you for the condition using sophisticated computerised algorithms, developed for clinicians by the World Health Organisation, which predicts the 10-year risk of sustaining a major osteoporotic fracture.
Prevention Advice
Once a person who is at risk of developing osteoporosis or sustaining an associated fracture has been identified, there is a lot they can do to reduce the chance of breaking a bone. Patients who are assessed as being at risk of osteoporosis will be given dietary, exercise and lifestyle advice to help manage risk factors to reduce the impact of the condition on their lifestyle. Those that are found to be at moderate to high risk will be advised to consult their GP and can be given a report on their risk factors to support their consultation.