Osteoporosis is a disease that affects the bones of a patient. This is most commonly found in women, especially in those women who are close to or going through, menopause. Hormonal changes around this period in a woman's life usually lead to various changes in her body. One of these changes include loss of bone tissue which can leave the patient with brittle and weak bones, a condition that is also known as osteoporosis. This condition literally imbibes the word porous, meaning hollow bones. It is born from an acute deficiency of calcium and vitamin D. The DEXA Scan or bone density test, also known as the Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry Scan, is one of the most effective tests that can help you in detecting this kind of damage or thinning bones. Here's why.

    Fractures: The DEXA Scan is an important one because it sends low energy beam to areas like your joints and tissues to show how susceptible you are to fractures. It does so by measuring the strength of the tissues as well as the bones to see how brittle they may be.
    Other Ailments: Measuring the thinning of your bones can also point to the presence of other ailments that may have gone unnoticed or undetected, earlier. These can include kidney disease, hyperparathyroidism which happens due to overactive secretions of the said gland, as well as liver disease due a malfunctioning liver, intestinal disease and various disorders in the intestinal tract, and a serious vitamin D deficiency. With this scan, you can get an insight into the other parts of the body affected by the bone density and whether or not they are functioning properly.
    Estrogen: Simply checking the estrogen levels cannot ascertain whether or not you have osteoporosis, as a high estrogen level can be credited to a particularly heavy period cycle. It does not show the bone health the way a DEXA Scan does.
    Easy and Standardised: This method of scanning usually happens with the help of a mounted X ray machine type, hand held gadget which can be extended to conduct the scan. This is an easy and standardised method that releases low levels of radiation which also makes it a healthier option.
    Bone Density Scores: The T Scores and Z scores point towards the bone density and help in diagnosing the condition efficiently. With a systematic scoring system, it is a sure shot test for osteoporosis.

Osteoporosis is a serious condition. The first step in treating the same is to get a detailed scan like the DEXA scan done, so as to test the extent of the bone thinning to ensure that proper and timely treatment takes place.

Why is the DEXA scan important for osteoporosis patients?

Bones are similar to a porous framework which is filled with minerals that make it hard and strong. With age, there is gradual degradation and the mineralized portion is lost, thereby leading to thinning of the bone. The word osteoporosis literally translates to porous bones, which is due to the gradual demineralisation. In addition to the natural ageing process, there are other diseases that can accelerate the demineralization process.

Women are more prone to demineralisation, and after the age of 40, they should take extra precaution to slow down the onset of the condition. The following are some ways to improve bone health and halt osteoporosis in the long run-

Diet: Ensure that your diet has sufficient amounts of vitamin D and calcium. Though calcium is the essential mineral for bone formation, vitamin D is required for the absorption of calcium, and therefore both these elements play a vital role in maintaining the quality of the bones in our body. Most people require about 1,000 mg of calcium and about 500 units of vitamin D for optimal bone health. This requirement goes up slightly in postmenopausal women.

Sun Exposure: In most people, exposure to the sun allows the body to make vitamin D, but careful sun protection prevents this from happening. Also, with age, the body s ability to form intrinsic vitamin D also declines. The body, therefore, relies on supplements. Most dairy products are good sources of calcium. In addition, spinach, salmon, turnips, and broccoli are some calcium-rich foods. Supplements of calcium carbonate or calcium citrate can be taken if your diet is lacking in calcium. Vitamin D also should be included in the supplementation. The treatment for osteoporosis is incomplete without these two supplements.

Exercise With Weights: The constructive tension that exercise puts on the body helps in bone building, whatever the age may be, which prevents the onset of osteoporosis. Any exercise which improves muscle mass strengthens the bones, and puts stress on the bones is advisable. Since the fractured area due to osteoporosis mainly includes the spine, lower back exercises, yoga, tai chi, and abdominal exercises all work wonders. Pick any of these and do them for 30 minutes three times a week.

Quit Smoking: Continuing to smoke while taking osteoporosis medications is completely useless. Nicotine negates all the effects which defeat the purpose of taking the medication and is as good as taking no medication at all. So if you want the bone thinning to stop, stop smoking.

Alcohol Consumption: While a drink or two per week is permissible, more than this can harm the bones significantly.

Constant Health Watch: Talk to your doctor about how other routine medications (if any) can affect your bone health. Also, identify how frequently you should check your bone mineral density and stick to the schedule.

Bone health and osteoporosis can be managed with some conscious efforts.

Bone Health And Osteoporosis - Know More About Them!

Majority of bone tumours are benign, meaning they are localised and do not spread. Since benign tumours do not metastasize, they are not forms of cancer. Despite not being malignant, the severity of their presence should not be ignored as they may cause a lot of pain and lead to other problems such as damaged bones and fractures.

Benign Bone Tumors

Osteochondromas: These form over 40 per cent of all benign bone tumours. They are mostly found in children and teenagers. Osteochondroma is a growth abnormality and they are found in the growing ends of long bones. An osteochondroma might grow separately or might be accompanied by other similar tumours.
Osteoclastomas: They are also called giant cell tumours of the bone. They are common and are found in the epiphysis of long bones and around the knee.
Osteoid Osteoma: These grow mostly in adolescents and very rarely in adults above 50. They primarily grow in the legs but they might also be found in other bones in the body.
Enchondroma: It is a bone tumour that starts in the cartilage. It is mostly found in the cartilage of the inner lining of bones. Small long bones of the feet and the hands are affected the most. Teenagers get more affected than other age group.
Osteoblastoma: These are slow growing tumours that take about two years to get diagnosed. An osteoblastoma makes the surrounding bones weaker as they dissolve them and make them more susceptible to fracture caused by small injuries. Men are twice as more likely to be affected by an osteoblastoma than women. Surgery is essential in all cases of osteoblastoma as they destroy healthy functional bone and grow in size with time.
In rare cases, these have also known to become malignant over time, despite their benign nature. It affects people under 30 mostly.

Malignant Bone Tumours

Osteosarcoma: It affects the hip, knees and shoulders of mostly children and teenagers. It is also referred to as osteogenic sarcoma.
Ewing Sarcoma Family of Tumours: These generate from medullary cavities and can also grow in blood vessels and adipose tissues. It primarily affects children and teenagers.
Chondrosarcoma: It usually affects the hips, pelvis and shoulders of middle aged people.

5 Most Common Types Of Benign Tumours!

If you are the on the wrong side of your fifties, then you will know the importance of regular checkups to the orthopedist. Aging related physical changes such as greying hair and wrinkles are a few things that you can cope with easily, however, when it comes to the health of your bones and muscles, you need to be very careful. You need to be particular about being active, as it can help reverse or reduce the risks of most of the bone disorders that you may suffer from. Ageing affects both the muscles and bones, but not always in the same manner. So, it is important that you understand how each is affected by ageing.

Changes in your muscles due to aging
As you age, your muscles tend to lose strength and size. This can make you prone to fatigue, weakness and a decrease in your tolerance levels to exercise. The various factors that play a role in this are:

Modifications in your nervous system can impair the ability of the muscle to contract.
The muscle fibers in the body reduce both in size and number.
The replacement rate of the muscle tissue in the body falls.
Changes in your bones due to aging
Ageing impacts the structure of the bone and leads to a loss of the bone tissue. Aging causes low bone mass, thus rendering them weak. This means a simple fall can have a serious effect on your bones.
The various causes that can bring about these changes are:

Loss of vital minerals such as calcium
Being physically inactive
Undergoing hormonal changes in the body such as menopause, wherein the body loses minerals from the bone tissues. In case of men, progressive decline of sex hormones can lead to changes in the bone structure.
Common conditions that affect your musculoskeletal system in your old age:

Osteoporosis: This disorder results from a loss of bone density resulting in fragile bones. This makes the bones highly susceptible to fractures and breakage.
Rheumatoid arthritis: An autoimmune disorder that usually develops after the age of 40; here, the immune system of the body attacks the body tissues, thus leading to inflammation in your joints.
Osteoarthritis: It is a disorder of the joints which is caused by deterioration of the cartilage that cushions the joints.

Old Age - How It Impacts Your Muscles & Bones?

Clubfoot is a deformity of the foot in infants. The condition is usually present from birth. This happens when the tissues linking the muscles to the tendons are shorter than usual, as a result of which the infant s foot appears twisted and out of shape. The condition can be mild or severe, depending on the symptoms. Often times, babies who are born with clubfoot have it in both the legs.

How to identify if your child has clubfoot?

Since the condition is present from birth, the symptoms are also easily observable. Identifying the following signs can help detect if your child is born with clubfoot-

  A foot that turns downward and inward and toes that point towards the opposite foot
  The affected foot may appear half an inch shorter than the normal foot size
  The heel of the affected foot may be smaller in size than it normally should be
  The calf muscle on the affected leg will be underdeveloped (appear slightly smaller)
  If the condition is severe, the foot may be twisted upside down

Despite its unusual shape, clubfoot does not cause pain or discomfort. The doctor will most likely notice the symptoms after the infant s birth. He/she will recommend appropriate treatment of the condition, or refer to an orthopaedic who specializes in muscle and bone ailments.

What is the treatment of clubfoot?

Clubfoot is curable so parents need not worry about their child living with a lifelong deformity.

Depending on the severity of the condition, the orthopaedic will either use devices, resort to stretching methods, or will recommend surgery.

  Ponseti Method (stretching and casting) - It is the standard treatment worldover. It starts at birth or anytime within two weeks of age and has best results in younger kids. It involves stretching the clubfoot and casting it in correct position several times over the months to restore the foot shape.
  French Functional Method (stretching and taping) - The doctor will stretch the affected foot and tape it in position several times over a couple of months to realign the shape. It, however, has very limites following.
  Surgery - Surgeries may be needed in older neglected kids or adults. The surgeon performs a surgical procedure (Achilles tenotomy) to lengthen the tendon of the clubfoot and realigns the joints and bones. Following the surgery, the child will need to be in a cast for about 2 months. Further, to prevent the recurrence of the condition, the child will be advised to wear braces for a year at least.
  Devices - They are adjunctive maintenance devices which are used by doctors in treatment of clubfoot. They are applied to the body to stabilize and limit or protect the movement of the damaged joint.

Parents should seek medical intervention if their baby is born with clubfoot. If the condition is not treated early, the child may face difficulty walking, or may even develop other disorders affecting the joints, like arthritis.

Clubfoot - Ways To Identify & Treat It Well!

Knee is a complex structure of your body made up of bones, ligaments, tendons, articular cartilage, muscles and meniscus. Knee is a very important joint as it plays a crucial role in human movement and is also very much prone to injuries. Your shoulder like your knee is also composed of bones, ligaments, tendons and muscles. It is the most flexible joint of your body and because of its frequent movement is also vulnerable to injuries. Knee and shoulder injuries can happen due to various reasons such as while playing sports, carelessly falling down or accidents. Your knee is made up of many important structures, any of which can be injured.

Pain and swelling are the most common signs of knee injury. In addition, your knee may catch or lock up. Many knee injuries cause instability, the feeling that your knee is giving way.

The most common knee injuries are as follows-

Fracture- In case of a fracture usually the patella gets affected. But sometimes the ends of femur or tibia can also get fractured.
Sprains and Strains- This is the most common injury that can happen while playing sports. Sprains and strains refer to the injury of the ACL or MCL.
Dislocation- Sometimes bones like femur or tibia gets displaced from their usual alignment.
Ligament Injuries- Your ligaments may get injured if the position of your knee is in a bent condition during the injury. Ligament injuries are common to sportspersons and can also happen if you encounter an accident.
Meniscal Tear and Tendon Tear- These are very common knee injuries which can happen while playing sports or falling down carelessly.
Treatment of Knee Injuries- 

When you are first injured, the RICE method   rest, ice, gentle compression and elevation   can help speed your recovery. The type of treatment your doctor recommends will depend on several factors, such as the severity of your injury, your age, general health, and activity level.

Nonsurgical Treatment-

Many knee injuries can be treated with simple measures, such as:

Immobilization: Your doctor may recommend a brace to prevent your knee from moving.
Physical Therapy: Specific exercises will restore function to your knee and strengthen the leg muscles that support it.
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medicines: Drugs like aspirin and ibuprofen reduce pain and swelling.
Surgical Treatment-

Many fractures and injuries around the knee require surgery to fully restore function to your leg. In some cases   such as ACL, PCL, Meniscal tears, surgery can be done arthroscopically using small incisions and minimally Invasive techniques.

The most common shoulder injuries are stated below-

Dislocation- Sometimes joints may get dislocated from their usual alignment
Fractures- Fractures of the collar bone, humerus and scapular fracture
Frozen Shoulder- It occurs due to the stiffness of the shoulder joint
AC Joint Injury- The ligaments may get injured in this type of an injury. It is common in sportsperson or may also happen due to falling down
Shoulder Impingement- In this case the muscles gets injured
Rotator Cuff Disease (Tendinitis and Bursitis)- In tendinitis of the shoulder, tendons become inflamed (red, sore, and swollen) from being pinched by parts around the shoulder. However, Bursitis occurs when the bursa, a small fluid-filled sac that helps protect the shoulder joint is inflamed.
Rotator Cuff Tear- Rotator cuff tendons can become inflamed from frequent use or aging. Sometimes they are injured from a fall on an outstretched hand.
Treatment of Shoulder Injuries-

Early detection is the key to preventing serious shoulder injuries.
Shoulder Exercises
Anti-inflammatory medication also may be prescribed to reduce pain and swelling.
Shoulder injuries can be treated by exercises and physiotherapy
Shoulder arthroscopy surgery is a small key hole, Day care surgery done for various problems like Periarthritis, Recurrent Shoulder Dislocation, Rotator Cuff Tear

Sports Injury - Its Surgical And Non-Surgical Treatment!

Don't wait any longer, manage your Club Foot online with a Lybrate doctor today

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