Osteoporosis Treatment

Osteoporosis Treatment: From Jonathan Cluett, M.D.,
What is the treatment for osteoporosis?

The primary goal of treatment of osteoporosis is to reduce the risk of pathologic fractures. The three mainstays of treatment are:

Weight-bearing exercise
Exercise is an important treatment for osteoporosis to maintain healthy bones. Activities that stress bones have been shown to have a positive effect in maintaining and increasing bone mass and preventing osteoporosis. Individuals who live a sedentary lifestyle have weaker bones and are subjected to a higher risk of sustaining pathologic fractures. While resistance forms of exercise (e.g. light weights) are excellent to stimulate bone production, even light aerobic exercise (e.g. aerobics, jogging, walking) can help strengthen bones and prevent osteoporosis.

Nutrition supplementation
Calcium supplementation is an important treatment to ensure oral intake is at least 1200 to 1500 mg every day. Comsuming this quantity of calcium is a difficult task considering that to do this you would have to eat or drink the equivalent of five glasses of milk each day. Because of this, many patients at-risk for osteoporosis should take an oral calcium supplement each day. This can be taken with Vitamin D (400-800 Units is recommended) to help increase the absorption. Also, caffeinated substances (e.g. coffee, soda, etc.) decrease calcium absorption, and should be avoided!

Medications
There are several available medications used for osteoporosis treatment.

These include:
Bisphosphanates (Fosamax)
Bisphosphanates (e.g. Fosamax, Actonel) are a type of medication that helps to regulate calcium and prevent bone breakdow"

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