Osteoporosis Treatment

Osteoporosis Overview

Osteoporosis is a condition characterized by a decrease in the density of bone, decreasing its strength and resulting in delicate bones. The bones in your body are constantly breaking down and replace themselves with new material. With osteoporosis, on the other hand, your bones are breaking down faster than they can regrow, which allows for the bones to become more dense, porous, and brittle. With this, your bones are very susceptible to fractures and breaks. It is important to know that usually there are no obvious signs of osteoporosis until a fracture occurs.

What you can expect

If you are unsure of whether or not you may have osteoporosis, a measurement of your bone density can be done. This can be measured by a machine that uses low levels of X-rays to determine the proportion of mineral in your bones. Only a few bones are checked like the hip, wrist, and spine. This test can help determine whether or not you are suffering from osteoporosis and whether you should seek treatment.

Treatment Options

Even though there is no actual cure for osteoporosis, there are certain treatments that can help aid the symptoms you are suffering and help increase your quality of life. Our physiatrist in Suffolk County will work with you to choose the best treatment options for you. The overall goal of treatment is to strengthen your bones in order to help protect them and to help slow the rate of bone reabsorption by the body.

Eating Habits

It is important to avoid phosphorus foods because they promote bone loss. These foods include red meats, caffeine, soft drinks, alcohol, food that has artificial coloring and are high in salt. You want to include foods that are rich in vitamin D to your diet to help offset any bone loss you may be receiving from those foods that are high in salt. As well as foods that are high in calcium to help build strength in your bones. Some foods you want to add are egg yolks, saltwater fish, milk, green leafy vegetables, almonds, and orange juice.

Physical Therapy

Physical therapy can also help strengthen your bones. Keeping active helps slow down bone loss and can even improve bone density in some cases. Exercise can also help improve your posture and balance, which helps decrease your chance of falling which will mean fewer fractures.

Injections

Our physiatrist in Suffolk County can help treat your osteoporosis through injection therapies as well. Injections help slow down the bone-breakdown process as well as the entire bone-remodeling process.

If you are interested in scheduling an appointment with our physiatrist in Suffolk County or are looking to learn more about our osteoporosis treatment, contact us today.