Osteoporosis | Osteoporosis |
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Osteoporosis is a disease in which the bones become fragile. In severe osteoporosis, bone loss can be so bad that bones fracture with very little stress. The most common bones to fracture in osteoporosis are the hip, vertebrae in the spine, forearm, upper arm, pelvis, and ribs. Then, sometime be¬tween ages 35 and 45, bone starts to resorb faster than it forms, so that the amount of bone begins to decrease. In most cases, the difference is very small, less than one-half percent each year. Women have a special problem, however. For about 8 to 10 years immediately before and after menopause, bone resorbs some 10 times faster than at younger ages. During that period, women can lose between 2 and 5 percent of their bone each year. |
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