Remember when your mother told you to “finish your milk?” As it turns out, she may have been on to something.

“Osteoporosis occurs when bones become fragile after losing minerals and certain structural elements,” says John Schousboe, MD, a rheumatologist with Park Nicollet Clinic Rheumatology. He compares bones to buildings. Both have a hard outer shell, but their true strength comes from the support structure inside. Today, about 10 million Americans have osteoporosis, and 80 percent of them are women. As baby boomers continue to age, this number is likely to grow.

Women, older adults, Caucasians and Asians are especially prone to developing osteoporosis. During their lifetime, women tend to lose about 50 percent of the bone density in their spine and thighs; men lose about 33 percent. When bones become more porous, they become more susceptible to breaks and fractures. Bones in the spine, hip and forearm are most at risk.

Preventive measures
Throughout adolescence and young adulthood, the body continually breaks down old bone and builds new bone. During this “remodeling process,” the body actually builds more bone than it removes. “I encourage people to do all they can to increase bone mass up through their twenties. It’s like putting money in the bank. The greater your initial bone mass, the more you can lose before getting into trouble,” Dr. Schousboe says.

To help promote strong bones:

• stay active and perform weight-bearing exercise, such as walking, jogging and running
• get enough calcium (at least 1,000 mg of calcium per day for pre-menopausal women and men under 50; at least 1,200 mg of calcium a day for post-menopausal women up to age 70 and men ages 50 to 70); 1,500 mg per day for men and women over age 70 (calculate your calcium intake)
• avoid medications that can promote bone loss, if possible, such as cortisone-like medications, certain blood thinners and anti-seizure medications
• avoid smoking and limit alcohol
• avoid becoming underweight (calculate your body mass)

Diagnosis
The preferred way to diagnose osteoporosis is with a bone mineral density test, which sends a low-energy X-ray through the entire body. “The more X-ray that gets absorbed, the denser the bones,” Dr. Schousboe explains. Another test detects bone density in specific areas of the body.

“It’s always best to prevent osteoporosis or, at least, detect it early. All too often, osteoporosis is not diagnosed until people break or fracture a bone or lose height,” Dr. Schousboe says.

Treatment
Thankfully, doctors have relatively new medications that can help slow bone loss. These reduce spine fractures by 50 to 60 percent and non-spine fractures among those who have osteoporosis 30 to 40 percent.

Future outlook
Compared to earlier generations, people today eat healthier and smoke less, which decreases the risk for osteoporosis. On the other hand, they live longer, which increases the risk.

“I remain optimistic about our future advances in treating osteoporosis,” Dr. Schousboe says. “We are developing new medications that are expected to increase bone size and density and improve bone structure. As we learn more about the role of genetics in promoting bone strength, we hope to take advantage of this knowledge to improve bone strength.”

“It is still very important for parents and schools to do all they can to help children and teens develop healthy bones by teaching them to get regular exercise, eat a nutritious diet and avoid drinking excess amounts of soda, especially at the expense of dairy products or other natural sources of calcium,” he adds.

To find a doctor who treats osteoporosis and other rheumatic conditions, call 952-993-5500, or visit parknicollet.com/rheumatology.