Hello and once again, welcome back to the ThreeSpires Physiotherapy blog and our series of articles about physiotherapy and pathologies that affect our patients. Just to remind you, we provide a home visit physiotherapy service based in Lichfield and serving areas such as Sutton Coldfield, Cannock, Tamworth, Rugeley and Walsall. In this article we will look at a common problem faced by many of our older physiotherapy patients: Osteoporosis.

What is Osteoporosis?

Osteoporosis is a condition where bones become weaker and at greater risk of fractures due to a reduction in bone density, this generally occurs slowly over a period of years (often decades) and is the most common cause for a broken bone in the elderly.

How Will I Know If I Have Osteoporosis?

It is commonly only diagnosed when someone breaks a bone (most commonly the hip or wrist) following a fall and the patient is then sent for a DEXA scan to measure their bone density.

Who Is at Risk Of Osteoporosis?

Osteoporosis becomes more common as people age and is much more common in females than men and females post-menopause are particularly at risk. People with a very low BMI, those with eating disorders such as anorexia and people on long-term steroids are also at risk.

What Causes Osteoporosis?

As with most pathologies and disease processes the exact causes of osteoporosis are fairly complex but there are some fairly well understood causes: Firstly women post-menopause are more at risk of osteoporosis because of changes in the production of hormones such as oestrogen which affect the level of bone production. This drop in bone production slowly causes an overall reduction in bone density of some females after menopause (not all though!) and eventually if unchecked causes osteoporosis. For the same reasons as just mentioned going through menopause early seems to be a particular risk factor for osteoporosis due to the reduction in oestrogen and subsequent lowering of bone production. As well as gender, age is a particular risk factor for osteoporosis. The exact process that is involved is not completely understood but most likely it is due to lower activity levels as people age. Several other factors influence the likelihood of developing osteoporosis: smoking, excessive drinking and being underweight are all significant modifiable risk factors. Genetics (eg a family history of osteoporosis) seems to be strongly linked to the chance of developing osteoporosis and also long-term usage of corticosteroids has been linked to reductions in bone density.

What are the Treatments for Osteoporosis?

There are a wide range of options to help with osteoporosis but certainly the best advice would be to attempt to avoid getting it in the first place by eating well, staying active, doing exercise, not smoking and avoiding excessive drinking. To be fair by doing all of these things you would in general be much healthier! Below are some common strategies for heling with osteoporosis:

1. Bone Density Scanning: It is important that if you suspect that you have osteoporosis that you get accurate information about it. After all in these situations knowledge is power. By knowing that you have osteoporosis you can begin to find out more about it and start to take appropriate steps to help with it. Having a bone density scan (DEXA Scan) can help show if you have any osteoporosis. It’s important to realise though that not everybody needs one of these and if you have concerns you should talk to your GP.
2. Education: if you have a confirmed diagnosis of osteoporosis then it is vital that you find out more about it, the causes, the consequences and treatment options. Articles like this blog are a good step on that journey.
3. Supplementation: the base line of treatment for osteoporosis will usually involve taking some supplements such as calcium and Vitamin D tablets. This is something that you would need to discuss in detail with your doctor.
4. Eating Healthily: making sure that you are getting a good diet with adequate calories and all the right nutrients is vital if you have osteoporosis.
5. Exercise: this is a vital component of treatment for anyone with osteoporosis and can be as simple as being more active and walking more. Exercise is a key component of both treating osteoporosis and preventing it in the first place as bone density tends to respond to load. This means that if you are doing exercise and putting weight through your bones (rather than being sedentary) you will likely reduce your chances of developing osteoporosis.
6. Strength Training: in the past it was thought that people with osteoporosis should avoid strength and high intensity training. However, recent research has shown that not only is it in general safe but it can also be beneficial. Before embarking upon a program of strength training it would be advisable to have an assessment with a physiotherapist.
7. Balance Training; one of the greatest risk factors from having osteoporosis is having a fall and breaking a hip or other bone. To reduce this risk of falling balance training can be beneficial. and also doing some physical exercise.
8. Physiotherapy: can help in a variety of ways with osteoporosis by creating structured exercise programmes that are safe and realistic for patients to follow and also helping educate patients about the nature of the problem.

 

How Can Physiotherapy Help with Osteoporosis?

As this is a physiotherapy blog, it is reasonable to have a bit more detail about how physiotherapy can help with osteoporosis and specifically how our service can help. If you have osteoporosis which has been confirmed with a diagnosis from your doctor then it seems eminently sensible to have an assessment with a physiotherapist to find out what exercises you should be doing. In the case of our service this would involve our physiotherapist visiting you at home and conducting a full assessment lasting approximately an hour. The assessment involves having a discussion about your condition, goals and what you would like to achieve from physiotherapy. After this part the physiotherapist would then conduct a physical assessment which would look at strength, fitness, range of motion at each joint and balance. From the results of this assessment and in combination with your goals/wishes they would then construct a personalised exercise programme aimed at improving your strength, balance and fitness and reducing the chances of you having a fracture as a result of your osteoporosis.

Physiotherapy can also help with recovery from a fracture due to osteoporosis such as breaking a wrist or hip. Our physiotherapists regularly see many patients with osteoporosis and have a large amount of experience of helping patients recover from fractures due to osteoporosis and will be able to guide and assist you through the recovery process.

Okay I hope that you have found this blog about osteoporosis useful. Should you want to know more or want to book an assessment with one of our physiotherapists then please get in touch. Our physiotherapy service is based in Lichfield and serves areas such as Sutton Coldfield, Tamworth, Cannock, Burntwood, Rugeley and Walsall. If you or someone you know has had osteoporosis or is worried about developing osteoporosis and would like help with physiotherapy then please get in touch. We can be contacted via phone: 0788 4281623 or via email: enquiries@threespiresphysiotherapy.co.uk