Osteoporosis itself does not hurt and cannot alert you to its presence, but the damage it causes can hurt.
Osteoporosis develops silently! You will not feel your gradual bone loss and increasing fracture risk as time goes by. It is a silent killer, and by the time you realize it, it is almost totally unavoidable. The base on which our whole body is built is the skeleton, from which we get our stability, our ability to move and function. Osteoporosis is a disease that causes these skeletal bones to become thin and fragile. It can lead to bone fractures, typically in the hips, spine, and wrist. Over a lifetime, bones naturally lose some of their density, but osteoporosis is an exaggeration of this process. Contributing factors may include a hormone deficiency (in women), low-calcium diet, and lack of exercise, smoking, and certain medications. Osteoporosis may thus be considered as thinning of the bones after the age of sixty, half of the female population and one third of men are affected by osteoporosis. This occurs when the body fails to form enough bone or when too much old bone is reabsorbed by the body or both. People who had insufficient calcium and protein during childhood, who are bed ridden, or have a hereditary disposition are more likely to develop osteoporosis. Menopause and the surgical removal of the uterus and ovaries can cause a fall in the primary female sex hormone, estrogen. Estrogen activates bone cell producing cells called osteoblasts but absence of estrogen causes increased activity of osteoblasts which cause reabsorption of phosphates and calcium from bone cells to body and thus helping osteoporosis. Within 5-8 years after menopause bone density will have been reduced by 4%. As age increases, the chances of getting a fracture also increase.
Signs and Symptoms: Early stage of osteoporosis does not have any signs or symptoms. Later the condition is suspected when fracture happens with little or no trauma. Other symptoms include pain or tenderness in bones, loss of more than 6 cm of height, low back and neck pain due to fracture of vertebrae, curved back and fracture healing requires longer period in patients with osteoporosis.
Ayurvedic view on Osteoporosis
Concept of Dhatu
Dhatu: There are seven types of body tissues which form the physical body. They are Rasa – Purified subtle part of properly digested food. Rakta – Blood, Mamsa – Flesh, Medas – Fat, Asthi – Bone, Majja – Bone marrow, Sukra/Arthava – Reproductive tissue. Each of these dhatu is subtler or purer than the previous dhatu and nourished by the same. For example fat (medas) is nourished by flesh (mamsa) and flesh (mamsa) by blood (rakta). The fire (agni) inherent in fat causes digestion and supply of nutrient or subtler part of fat to the subsequent bone (asthi) dhatu. Asthi or Bone is the fifth of seven dhatus of human body. This is the hardest of all dhatus. Equilibrium of doshas (vatha, pitta and kapha principles) and seven dhatus capable of doing its own functions result in health. Bone or asthi dhatu acts as framework of the body. Bone or asthi dhatu is the equivalent of the heart wood in a tree that gives support to the whole tree. Healthy joints are possible only with normally functioning bone or asthi dhatu. When pitta or kapha principle is abnormally increased corresponding dhatu is also increased. In the case of vata principle, it is the opposite. When vata increases related dhatu which is the bone, decreases. This is what happens in osteoporosis or Asthi Kshaya as known in Ayurveda.
Ayurvedic Management of Asthi Kshaya:
Treatment procedures and medicines used for vata predominant conditions are successfully employed in osteoporosis.
1. Internal or External application of ghee or oils. This includes oral administration of ghee or oils processed with bitter and astringent herbs. External application of medicated oils is also useful. The choice is made by a physician after assessing the patient’s condition.
2. Sweating. After the above oleation process, mild to moderate sweating or steaming is done with boiling herbs in water.
3. Vasti. This is a very important treatment process for vata predominant conditions. Here medicated oils, ghee, honey, powdered herbs, rock salt and herbal decoction are mixed in a very peculiar manner. This is administered through the anus as an enema. Here medicines reach emulsion form which causes increased bio assimilation.
Ayurvedic Dietary Modifications
Diet is of utmost importance in the treatment of osteoporosis. Pungent, sour and cold food items are contra indicated while green gram, soup, dairy products, drumstick, leafy vegetables are useful. Intake of sesame seed in many forms is very useful. Excess alcohol consumption and smoking is contra indicated.
Regular exercise
Regular exercise from childhood prevents osteoporosis. For those who are already affected with osteoporosis, they should start exercises only after consulting a physician.
Home remedies
In the morning start eating sesame seeds. These are very useful for natural osteoporosis treatment. Milk is the most important home remedy that is easily available for osteoporosis treatment. Take two glasses of warm milk in a day. Almond milk is another good home remedy to cure osteoporosis. It is a rich source of calcium which is required for healthy bones. You can easily make it at home by soaking almonds in warm water, peeling, grinding and mixing with milk. Eating two ripe bananas with a glass of milk is also an effective home remedy for osteoporosis. Take one teaspoon of honey every day to reduce the risk of osteoporosis. Sprouts are rich in vitamin K. Increase intake of sprouts as it helps to increase bone density. Eat green vegetables such as fenugreek, lettuce, spinach, curry leaves and others which are excellent sources of calcium, and contain many additional health advantages. You may increase intake of dairy products to increase calcium in your diet.
Osteoarthritis vs. Osteoporosis
Osteoarthritis (or degenerative joint disease) is a non- inflammatory condition, commonly found in adults, which is derived from loss of cartilage with subsequent remodeling and overgrowth of adjacent bone. By contrast, osteoporosis is a metabolic condition characterized by loss of bone density or thinning of bones leading to increased fragility and a propensity to fracture. Osteoarthritis is a condition frequently found in people who are obese or who have experienced trauma to the joints (including surgical removal of cartilage); it is quite commonplace over the age of 65, more prevalent in women (although isolated hip osteoarthritis is more prevalent in men over the age of 75), and almost always presents with inexorably progressive pain. Bone Osteoporosis is relatively under appreciated in men, although it does occur with some frequency in men over the age of 75; steroids, smoking, caffeine, excess thyroid replacement and loss of post-menopausal estrogen are frequent contributors to osteoporosis in women who are at risk for both hip and vertebral fracture. Osteoporosis can be effectively cured with some lifestyle changes and consumption of a diet rich in calcium, protein and vitamin D which are vital for bone composition and bone health. At the same time, it is also recommended to follow an exercise regime such as swimming, walking or yoga to treat osteoporosis naturally.