Irish Osteoporosis Society

What is Osteoporosis?

Osteoporosis means porous bones. It is a silent disease that is usually not diagnosed until a fracture/s (broken bone/s) occurs.

As we get older, more bone is naturally lost than is replaced, but people with Osteoporosis lose more bone than people who do not have the disease.

This causes bones to become fragile and therefore they break easily e.g. through a minor bump or fall. A broken bone as a result of a trip or fall from a standing position is not normal at any age.

What is Osteoporosis?

Who does it affect?

Osteoporosis affects 1 in 5 men, 1 in 2 women and can also affect children

The people in this picture are not actors

Who does it affect?

Treatments

There are now many treatments available for Osteoporosis. All medications have potential side effects whether they are for Osteoporosis or any another condition.

When dealing with Osteoporosis, the risk of fracture usually far outweighs the risk of possible side effects. Please speak to your doctor and/or an Osteoporosis/bone specialist.

Treatments

Exercise + Diet

Healthy bones are like banks, the more deposits you make, and the more withdrawals you can count on. Diet plays a major role in ensuring healthy bones. In particular, Calcium and Vitamin D need to be taken in the right amounts through life to build bone and slow down bone loss.

Eating a healthy balanced diet, containing adequate calories, can help to improve your overall bone health not to mention your overall health.

Exercise + Diet

Risk Factors

Some factors are much higher risk than others, and not all risk factors listed have had extensive research done. However we are listing them all to ensure that anyone who may be at risk is aware.

There are factors that determine a person’s risk of developing or having Osteoporosis and there are factors that place a person at high risk for a fracture (broken bone). These may overlap but are not necessarily the same.

Risk Factors