Osteoporosis or Osteopenia.

Osteoporosis or Osteopenia. If you have been diagnosed with bone loss, your health care provider probably told you that you have either Osteoporosis or Osteopenia.  So what difference does it make?  And should you do the same or different things to reverse these? Read on....

Osteoporosis means 'porous bones'. A person with this diagnosis has lost so much bone that there are actual holes where there should be bone. This leaves you at risk for fracturing a bone with much less pressure than what would be necessary to fracture a healthy bone. 

Person diagnosed with Osteopenia have some bone loss, but not enough that there are actual holes Porous places) in the bone. See image below.

Both Osteoporosis and Osteopenia  leave you are greater risk for a fracture if you fall or have a sudden shift of the weight on your bones. But since Osteopenia involves less bone loss than Osteoporosis, Osteopenia is usually easier to reverse.

What to do about Osteoporosis or Osteopenia ?

What can you do if you have been diagnosed with either of these conditions? First, your health care provider is likely to make some recommendations. Follow them. If there is something you do not understand, ask.                                                  

After all these are your bones. You do not want to have a fracture because you were not sure what to do. Get clear. If you tend to forget things after you leave the office, ask for written instructions. These are your bones. You need to be sure that you know what to do. 

But there are other things you can do on your own. Here are some suggestions.

First, ask yourself  do you have Osteoporosis or Osteopenia? It is not normal to have either condition. And there are different things that can cause these conditions. This is not like a common cold or the flu.  If you have bone loss, why not find out what has caused you to lose so much bone?

1. You can eliminate some of the reasons for your bone loss so you stop losing more bone. Do read What are the Causes of Osteoporosis or Osteopenia.
2.  Now that you know the probable causes of your Osteoporosis or Osteopenia, I hope that you will spend sometimes figuring out how to eliminate or reverse some of those causes.   For example. If a prescription drug you are taking is associated with bone loss, why not speak to your physician and find out if there is a different prescription drug you can take for your condition? 
3. If it appears that your diet is too acidic, why not make some changes n your daily food intake? You may want to contact a nutritionist but there are things you can figure out on your own. Here is a page about Diet Osteopenia, Osteoporosis         Perhaps you can start some easy changes on your own - for example, add more salads and vegetables.      
4.  Exercise. Not all exercise is good for building bones. Some runners, for example,   lose bone density as do some swimmers. If you want stronger bones, please read about weight bearing exercise.  

Preventing falls is  an important first step for preventing fractures.  If you fall, when your bones are in a weakened state, you are more likely to break a bone. (I broke a wrist, then later I shattered an elbow both as the result of falls.) Fractures hurt and they interfere with our every day routine. At the time I did not know that we lose a percent of our balance as we grow older. I do now. And yes, I also know that there are some easy movements/exercises to increase and restore our balance.

They are so easy, I can do them in the kitchen each day....or I  do at least one of them while waiting on line at the grocery store or at the bank. I encourage you to read Osteoporosis or Osteopenia balance exercises. 

And there are books that can teach you about reversing bone loss.

Finally, I encourage you to bookmark this web site and so you can come back and  read at least a couple pages each week. I keep us with research studies and add to the site regularly.  I know of no other site that covers so many aspects about these conditions; both the causes of bone loss and ways to reverse Osteoporosis or Osteopenia....both natural and pharmaceutical ways to revers bone loss and build stronger bones.