L4.7.2: Older Adults - Osteoporosis

• Bone-thinning disease that afflicts:

  ○ 50% of women over 65

  ○ 20% of men over 70.
• The ratio of bone formation to bone breakdown decreases as osteoblast activity becomes sluggish.
• Make the bones so fragile to the point that it can easily fracture.

  ○ Even a hug or a sneeze can cause bones to

  fracture.
• Vertebral Collapse results in kyphosis or “Dowager’s Hump”

  ○ Spinal curvature that causes the loss of height, tilted rib cage, and protruding abdomen.
• Why are women more prone to Osteoporosis?

  ○ Women undergo the menopausal stage that causes a difference in the level of female hormones.

  ■ Estrogen and progesterone.

  ○ Estrogen deficiency during menopause is heavily correlated with osteoporosis.

  ○ Estrogen aids in health and normal density of a female skeleton.
• ● At birth, the head and trunk are proportionately much longer than the lower limbs

  ● During puberty:

  ○ Female pelvis broadens

  ○ Entire male skeleton becomes more robust

  ● By the end of adolescence:

  ○ Epiphyseal plates become fully ossified