Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is a disease. The Natural Osteoporosis Foundation’s Physician’s Resource Manual on Osteoporosis describes it as a condition in which bone tissue is reduced in amount. It is a demineralization and thinning of bone, increasing the likelihood of fracture. Two categories of osteoporosis have been identified, primary and secondary. Primary is the most common form of the condition and includes postmenopausal osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is not a disease in the usual sense of the term, as it is “silent” for many years after its onset; there may be no symptoms until a fracture occurs. Many victims of osteoporosis awake to the reality of a lifelong neglect of their bones when they suffer a fracture. Some bone loss occurs universally with aging, in both sexes, but the condition is more marked in females.