Osteoporosis – Symptoms And Remedies

Osteoporosis is a progressive bone disease which decreases bone density, leading to inevitable deterioration of bone structure. Skeletal weakness leads to fractures with minor trauma, particularly in the thoracic and lumbar spine, wrist, and hip. Acute or chronic back pain is common in osteoporosis.

Osteoporosis

The bone is in a permanent state of formation but after 32-35 years old, the bone density begins to weaken leading to bone deterioration. There are some important influential factors that contribute to the bone structure in a benefic or harmfull way:

• There are hormones that have the role to speed up the remodelation structure of the bone such as the parathyroid hormone, the thyroxine hormone, the growth hormone as well as vitamin D; as well as there are hormones who reduce it, such as calcitonin and estrogens;
• There are also other factors, like genetic, workout, life style, nutrition (e.g. smoking, alcohol consumption, sedentarism and obesity), menopause, kidney chronic diseases, diabetes, etc.  which also contribute to the apparition of osteoporosis.

Affects on Bones

Symptoms And Signs Of Osteoporosis:

• Fractures, which develop after minimal or no trauma at all, lead to chronic pain typical in osteoporosis;
• Pain evolves usually in the bones and muscles, especially in the back. The pain is acute, it does not radiate and it begins after weight bearing. It is also possible that residual pain to last for months or become constant;
• Exaggerated cervical lordosis(dowager’s  hump) is likely to appear at an old age.

What You Can Do – Osteoporosis Remedies

• Drink a lot of water. It maintains the fluidity of the blood. Osteoporosis is a disease produced due to demineralization, therefore your daily menu should also include aliments which help maintain calcium in the bones. Example of aliments: fish, eggs, vegetables (especially broccoli), cereals, soya, sardines, sunflower seeds, peanuts, nuts, dry beans, etc.
• You should consider taking a small tablet of calcium during the night just to compensate loss of calcium through urine. The dosage of calcium is usually recommended as it follows:  1 gram of calcium per day for adults, 1.5 grams of calcium per day for women who passed their menopause as well as men past 65 years old;
• You should be aware that sedentarism, obesity, or being immobilized and forced to stay in bed raise the chances of osteoporosis to appear.
• A maximum of 15 minutes exposure to UV is suggested, as it  produces provitamin D which turns into vitamin D.
• Sports, physical exercises should not be disregarded.

There is a series of recommended exercises, specially for preventing osteoporosis, which can be done in the physiotherapy room. Age should not be regarded as an impediment in realizing the recommended exercises. Jogging and aerobics however pressurize the spine even more when already affected by osteoporosis, so they should be avoided.

For people who are not yet affected of osteoporosis, physical exercises of a higher impact are recommended. Jogging, voleyball, basketball, tenis, aerobics, skying are to be considered. The exercises become efficient only if intensely repeated on a regular basis and on short sessions.

Physical Exercises

For those who have already developed osteoporosis, carefully supervised, progressive exercises can raise the level of mineral density. Walking for almost an hour daily is also higly indicated for maintaining the mineral denisty at the pelvic and lower limbs level.

Progressive Exercises

Special exercises for extension of the spine:

1. While sitting on a chair, raise your hands to the shoulder level and slowly pull your arms to the back to straighten the spine. Remain in that position for a few seconds and repeat it 5 times;
2. Lie flat on your back, on a thin matress placed on the floor. Bend your knees so that the soles of your feet are touching the floor. Contract your abdominal muscles and place your hands stretched above your head. Maintaining them perfectly stretched, drag them untill they reach the shoulder level. Maintain the position for a few seconds and repeat the exercise 10 times;

For further and more complex exercises, it is recommended that you visit your physician which will guide you further in finding suitable physiotherapy exercises, depending on each case.

Bulimia Nervosa Symptoms And Treatment

Bulimia is a nutritional disorder, characterized by excessive eating. The regular bulimic person will engage in excessive eating followed by induced vomiting.Other means of sudden weight loss consist of excessive workouts, consumption of laxatives or any other pills which contribute somewhat to the matter in cause. Bulimia  has a very unclear etiology, but it is believed that the most frequent factors which contribute to its appearance  are of a social nature (e.g. peer-pressure, envy upon admiring another person with a slender figure).

Bulimia

Bulimia nervosa symptoms:

• Excessive appetite and engaging in a large food consumption;
• Weight loss over the quantity of food consumed in a short amount of time;
• Thought of guilt after consuming a large amount of food;
• Continuous denial when asked about eating habits;
• Erosion of front teeth;
• Enlargement of salivary glands.

Bulimia nervosa is hard to diagnose due to the majority of normal weight bulimic patients. Therefore, it is important to pay attention to all  patients who might come in complaining for stomach problems due to excessive vomiting, fatigue  and/or nutritional advice due to weighing less or more than normal.

The treatment of bulimia shall be done by the physician, a psychologist/psychiatrist-depending on the case and a nutritionist.  There is no need for hospitalization unless there are some severe problems concerning the digestive tract.

The main steps to be taken are:

• Psychological counseling;
• 3 meals a day with 2 snacks, without any extra diets;
• Reducing worries about the physical appearance;
• Interpersonal therapy with the role of  making the patient deal with his personal problems in order to remove the bulimic problems;
• Group therapy.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy is the optimal treatment. Therapy involves about 20 individual sessions over 5 months. Treatment aims to increase motivation for change, replace dysfunctional dieting with a regular and flexible pattern of eating. CBT eliminates binge eating in 30% to 50% of patients. Improvement is shown to be maintained on the long-term.

Anorexia Nervosa (Fear Of Gaining Weight) – Symptoms And Treatment

Anorexia Nervosa is an eating disorder which has both physical and emotional implications. Anorexic persons weigh below normal; they self-inflict eating limits – if not starvation, because of the distorted image they see everytime they look in the mirror. Anorexia can even become a chronic disease, not to mention that if it becomes long term, it will lead to severe health damage and eventually death. Even if the causes of anorexia are not yet clear, it is safe to asume that the influences are of biological, psychological and social nature. The increased level of serotonin is believed to lead towards anorexic behaviour such as social isolation and starvation. Recent studies have shown that social factors are to be taken into consideration; peer-pressure, anorexic family member or a huge dissapointment.

Anorexia Nervosa

 Anorexia Nervosa symptoms:

• Self-inflicted eating limits;
• Fear of gaining weight even though the person in cause weighs below normal;
• Avoiding subjects concerning nutrition disorders;
• Hiding food;
• Inducing vomit
• Frail hair, dry skin and fragile nails
• Low blood pressure
• Lack of menstruation
• Edema present on hands and feet

Anorexic persons also develop strange habits:

• Exagerated mastication of food
• Loss of apetite
• Usage of laxatives or induced vomiting in order to lose weight
• Exagerated work-outs

Affects of Anorexia on Body

Treatment

The treatment shall be completed with the help of the personal physician, nutritionist and psychiatrist. The main goals are reestablishment of normal weight, raised self-esteem and an ideal nutritional plan.

Psychological Counseling – Cognitive-behavioural therapy is a good approach in treating anorexia. It helps pacients learn how to change their attitude and behaviour towards food.

Nutritionial advice – it is very important in treating anorexic patient. The dietician helps compose a suitable diet and lures the pacient away from counting all callories towards eating in a relaxed and calm ambient.Providing about  40 kcal/kg/day, can produce weight gains of 1.5 kg/wk during inpatient care. Malnourished patients require nasogastric feedings. Loss of bone mass should be treated with elemental Ca 1200 to 1500 mg/day, vitamin D 600 to 800 IU/day, and, if severe, a bisphosphonate. The goal is to weekly gain weight until it reaches to a normal limit and then maintain it. Nutritional supplements are sometimes included in diets but should not be taken unless recommended strictly by the dietician.