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Are These Osteoporosis Treatment Options Right for You?

Jul 9, 2018
  • Medical Information
  • Traditional Medicine
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Osteoporosis Treatment – What's Available?

With contributions from Josh Duvachelle.

If you’re reading this, chances are you have osteoporosis. You probably already understand that osteoporosis has no cure. However, lifestyle modifications and medications can slow its progress. Some treatments for osteoporosis may even reverse it slightly and allow the bone to rebuild to some degree.

And you’re not alone! According to the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF), osteoporosis affects over 200 million women worldwide. Osteoporosis is the cause of 8.9 million fractures annually, which equates to an osteoporotic fracture every three seconds.

Also, osteoporosis is costly – according to the National Osteoporosis Foundation (NOF), fractures related to osteoporosis cost families and the healthcare system an estimated $19 billion annually. And this number is only expected to increase.

What is Your Best Osteoporosis Treatment Option?

According to the National Osteoporosis Foundation, your best strategy for fighting bone loss depends on a few key factors:

Your Age

Some medicines, such as certain estrogen treatments, are more appropriate for specific chapters of life.

For example, the NOF warns: “Osteoporosis medication is not recommended for healthy premenopausal women. However, young women who take medications or have disorders known to cause bone loss and fractures may benefit from osteoporosis treatment.”

Your Current Bone Strength Status

Some approaches, such as changing your diet, help to restore calcium to your bones. Others, such as weight-bearing exercise, reduces bone loss. The same is true for different herbal, alternative and conventional medications.

“A person with more severe bone loss or multiple broken bones may be recommended a different medicine than a person with less bone loss or no fractures,” reports the NOF.

Your Overall Health

Many women who have osteoporosis may also experience other health issues, such as high blood pressure, stress, diabetes, etc. Your doctor will look at your overall health to find the safest and most effective options for yourself.

Take estrogen-based osteoporosis remedies, for example. If you have had breast cancer or have a family history of breast cancer, your doctor may recommend against taking estrogen.

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to managing osteoporosis. But by looking at the big picture, and understanding your many treatment options, you can put together a plan with your doctor that helps you live our life to the fullest and enjoy optimal bone health and wellbeing.

Osteoporosis Medication Options and Information

Some medications are hormonal and are only approved for women. These medications include calcitonin (Fortical and Miacalcin), estrogen, and estrogen agonists/antagonists (Evista).

Other medications are available for men and women. These include bisphosphonates (Actonel, Atelvia, Fosamax, and Reclast), denosumab (Prolia) and teriparatide (Forteo).

Bisphosphonates

Bisphosphonates can be given to both men and women, and they work by slowing bone loss. Depending on the drug, they may be given once weekly or once monthly.

This drug class is the most commonly prescribed for osteoporosis. According to News Medical, “Bone is constantly undergoing a turnover process in which osteoblasts create bone and osteoclasts destroy it. Bisphosphonates inhibit the actions of osteoclasts by promoting their apoptosis (programmed cell death), which, in turn, slows bone loss.”

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The benefit of bisphosphonates, aside from the fact that they slow down bone loss, is that they can also decrease bone pain associated with osteoporosis. Also, in cancer patients with bone damage, bisphosphonates are known to reduce the need for radiation and lower the risk of fracture.

Bisphosphonates can be broken down into two subclasses, which differ based on their mechanism of action:

  1. Nitrogenous bisphosphonates: pamidronate, alendronate, and zoledronate.
  2. Non-nitrogenous bisphosphonates: etidronate, clodronate and tiludronate.

The downside to bisphosphonates is that they must be taken correctly — if they are not taken correctly, they are known to cause esophageal ulcers.

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Next page: More osteoporosis medication options and herbal/natural remedies for osteoporosis treatment.

Krystina Ostermeyer
Krysti is a practicing RN who also enjoys writing about health and wellness. She writes for a variety of NewLifeOutlook communities, as her ten years of nursing experience has enabled her to help many people with a variety of chronic conditions in her career. See all of Krystina's articles
More Articles by Krystina
Josh Duvauchelle
Josh is health and wellness expert and certified personal trainer from Canada. His advice on fitness, nutrition, chronic illnesses and more have been featured in Men’s Fitness, Men’s Health, Men’s Journal, Eating Well magazine, HuffPost, Alive magazine, Teen Vogue, USA Today and many other major media outlets. See all of Josh's articles
More Articles by Josh
Resources
  • Mayo Clinic (Osteoporosis Treatment: Medications Can Help)
  • National Osteoporosis Foundation (Treatment for Osteoporosis)
  • WebMD (What are the Treatments for Osteoporosis?)
  • International Osteoporosis Foundation (Facts and Statistics)
  • WebMD (Forteo for Osteoporosis)
  • International Osteoporosis Foundation (Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT))
  • WebMD (Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulators (SERMs))
  • National Osteoporosis Foundation (Osteoporosis Fast Facts)
  • News Medical Life Sciences (What are Bisphosphonates?)
  • WebMD (Top Foods for Calciums and Vitamin D)
  • Harvard Health Publishing (How Well Does Calcium Intake Really Protect Your Bones?)
  • ScienceDaily (Dietary Calcium Is Better Than Supplements at Protecting Bone Health)
  • American Council on Science and Health (Eating Fiber Might Help Prevent Osteoporosis)
  • NCBI (Vitamin K2 Therapy for Postmenopausal Osteoporosis)
  • WebMD (Best Exercise for Osteoporosis)
  • NIH Osteoporosis and Related Bone Diseases National Resource Center (Smoking and Bone Health)
  • National Osteoporosis Foundation (Treatment for Osteoporosis)
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