Understanding Bone Health

Understanding bone health doesn’t have to be as complicated as you’d think.  Your bones are living tissues, and they constantly rebuild throughout life. The younger you are (under 20 years old), the faster bones rebuild. Unfortunately, after age 20 your loss of bone density is much higher that bone rebuilding.

What causes your bones to be brittle, you may wonder? Proper health and nutrition play an important roll in preventing bone loss. Here is some more information regarding your bone health.

Vitamin D Deficiency

A deficiency of Vitamin D is one of many leading causes of bone loss. Sunlight is a great source of Vitamin D. If you don’t get enough, coupled with not consuming foods sufficient in Vitamin D, you increase your deficiency even more.

Low Bone Density

A very low bone density will also weaken your bones, leading to Osteopenia. If left undiagnosed or even untreated, you could develop Osteoporosis if density levels continue to drop even lower.

Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis, commonly found in older people, especially women, makes bones so weak that they can actually break. For women it usually happens after menopause estrogen levels decrease, which is the main culprit of Osteoporosis.

Brittle Bone Disease

Osteogenesis Imperfect, also known as Brittle Bone Disease, weakens bones so much that they become prone to fractures. This disease is a genetic disorder in which a person is born with abnormal genes meant to produce collagen protein, essential for maintaining bone strength.

Paget’s Disease of Bone

One other bone disease, Paget’s Disease of Bone, causes bones to remodel themselves. They will grow too large and lose shape, weaken, cause hearing loss and even arthritis. The result will be excessive breakdown or new bone will form. Some common places this disease occurs in include the spine, legs, pelvis and skull.

People with osteoporosis think that exercise will cause bone breakage, however an exercise regimen created by a professional trainer could possibly help you prevent falls, and fall-related fractures. Weight-bearing and strength training exercise are known to build and maintain bone density, and they’re safe and effective. Before starting an exercise regimen when dealing with bone loss, be sure to consult with a physician or trained physical therapist.

Written by: Jamacia Magee, Rust Built, Marketing Services

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