Guest author Gwen Hawn, FACS Agent, UGA Extension Hall County<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Building and maintaining strong bones through a healthy lifestyle which includes adequate calcium and vitamin D and consistent physical activity with weight-bearing exercises is the first and best practice to avoiding bone diseases. According to the Bone Health and Osteoporosis Foundation, \u201c20% of people die from complications from a hip fracture within year one.\u201d The National Institute on Aging reports that half of all women will break a bone due to osteoporosis in their lifetime. Since bone diseases aren\u2019t physically noticeable until the bone loss has already occurred, regardless of your lifestyle, it is important to get a bone mineral density (BMD) test done. In part two of this series, I detailed at what age routine screenings should start depending on risk factors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The most common BMD test is a central dual energy x-ray absorptiometry also referred to as DXA or DEXA. A DXA screen is generally done of the hip and spine since these are the bones that tend to break when weakened. If you are a postmenopausal woman or a man over the age of 50, you will receive a T-score which will identify your bone mineral density in comparison to a healthy young adult. For premenopausal women and men younger than 50, your BMD will provide you with a Z-score which will let you know your bone mineral density compared to healthy people of your age, ethnicity and gender. Your physician should be able to order the density test and review the results with you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If your tests indicate you have osteopenia (a T-score between -1 and -2.5) or osteoporosis (a T-score below -2.5), your physician and you will discuss treatment options. In addition to getting adequate calcium and vitamin D, regular exercise, taking precautions to not fall, and avoiding smoking and excess alcohol, your physician may recommend medications. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are several different types of medications used to treat osteopenia and osteoporosis. These include biphosphates, denosumab, selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs), parathyroid hormone-related protein analogs and romosozumab. The different types of medications work either to slow down bone loss or promote bone formation. All medications can have potential side effects. Osteonecrosis of the jaw and joint or muscle pain are some potential side effects to be aware of. Your doctor will help you determine what type of medication would be best suited for you based on your sex, age, your BMD score, your overall health and personal preferences. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Hall County, we have another valuable resource for postmenopausal women ages 55-80 who are not currently being treated for osteoporosis. The Center for Advanced Research & Education \u2013 A Flourish Research Site is a part of a national study evaluating a new osteoporosis drug. The study named The ARTEMIS Study is completely voluntary. Female volunteers will receive a bone density scan, an x-ray of the spine, a general physical examination, an EKG, and blood work all done for free<\/u><\/strong>. Once the screening is complete, the individual will be given the results and at that time, if the woman qualifies, she can decide if she wants to participate or not in the study. There is no obligation for the individual to participate. The research team is also committed to the education on bone health and is offering a free bone scan to any woman over the age of 50. To learn more about this study and other studies they are doing, you can visit their website www.carega.net or call 770-534-5154 or email researchinfo@carega.net<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Guest author Gwen Hawn, FACS Agent, UGA Extension Hall County Building and maintaining strong bones through a healthy lifestyle which includes adequate calcium and vitamin D and consistent physical activity with weight-bearing exercises is the first and best practice to avoiding bone diseases. According to the Bone Health and Osteoporosis Foundation, \u201c20% of people die […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":590,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[451,439,432,431,433],"class_list":["post-2614","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-facs","tag-artemis-study","tag-bone-loss","tag-calcium","tag-osteoporosis","tag-vitamin-d"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/forsyth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2614","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/forsyth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/forsyth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/forsyth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/590"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/forsyth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2614"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/forsyth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2614\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2618,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/forsyth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2614\/revisions\/2618"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/forsyth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2614"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/forsyth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2614"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/forsyth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2614"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}