Are you at risk from osteoporosis?
05:53 PM CDT on Tuesday, October 24, 2006
It's a disease that more than 1.5 million women are diagnosed with each year.
And, in most cases it's silent, with few to no symptoms.
We're talking about osteoporosis.
Marge Pace, 69, says a diagnosis of osteoporosis is the last thing she expected to hear from her doctor.
"I was surprised, I was really shocked," she said.
The Waxahachie resident is fit and has always followed a diet rich in calcium.
"I grew up on a farm, and drank milk straight from the cow," she added.
But, Pace, like most women, had no clue she was suffering from the disease.
"They may go several years without having symptoms before they actually have a fracture," Dr. Melinda Velez.
The majority of osteoporosis fractures occur in the lower spine or the hip, mostly in menopausal women when estrogen dips.
"You can see the little breaks... and the lack of strength that this bone has compared to this bone," he said, pointing to an x-ray.
The density of the bone is measured in something called "T-scores".
A bone density scan is painless and takes just minutes for results.
A T-score of -2.5 or below signals osteoporosis.
Dr. Velez recommends a bone density scan for women over the age of 50 or younger, if you have had a hysterectomy or have any of these risk factors:
•If you smoke, or consume more than 3 caffeine drinks a day
•If you drink more than 2 glasses of alcohol a day
•If you don't exercise.
Lifting weights and walking are crucial to healthy bones.
"Weight bearing activity is very important because bones are constantly remodeling. The bones you have now are not the bones you had a couple of years ago and they change that impact actually," Dr. Velez continued.
She said women should also make sure they get plenty of calcium and vitamin D, no matter what their age.
National Osteoporosis Foundation
WFAA-TV's Tina Foster contributed to this report.
Additional Resource: Reversing Osteopenia, McIlwain, Bruce, Cruse, McIlwain, Henry Holt & Co. 2004