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Osteoporosis

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Osteoporosis Osteoporosis (OS-tee-oh-poh-ROH-sis) is a disease of the bones. Osteoporosis is the most common type of bone disease.
People with osteoporosis have bones that are weak and break easily. Everyone has cells that remove old bone and other cells that rebuild new bone. This ongoing process is part of what keeps your bones strong. When you have postmenopausal osteoporosis, bone-removing cells cause you to lose bone at a rate that is too fast. The result is thinner, weaker bones that can break more easily. In women, bone loss increases after menopause. In the 5 to 7 years after menopause, you can lose up to 20 percent of your bone mass—leaving you at risk for fracture.
Researchers estimate that about 1 out of 5 American women over the age of 50 have osteoporosis. About half of all women over the age of 50 will have a fracture of the hip, wrist, or vertebra . (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001400/ ) Osteoporosis affects all bones in the body. However, breaks are most common in the hip, wrist, and spine, also called vertebrae (VUR-tuh-bray). Vertebrae support your body, helping you to stand and sit up. Osteoporosis in the vertebrae can cause serious problems for women. A fracture in this area occurs from day-to-day activities like climbing stairs, lifting objects, or bending forward. Signs of osteoporosis include sloping shoulders, curve in the back, height loss, back pain, hunched posture and a protruding abdomen.
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(http://www.womenshealth.gov/publications/our-publications/fact-sheet/osteoporosis.cfm#a )

There are several risk factors that raise your chances of developing osteoporosis. Some of these factors are things you can control, while some you can’t control. Some of the factors that you cannot control are being female, being older, menopause, having a small thin body and having a family history of

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