Osteoporosis in Men
When you think of Osteoporosis, which gender comes to mind? Women? Then you’d be surprised to learn that almost one-fifth of people diagnosed with this condition are men.
Osteoporosis, a condition in which bones lose their calcium content and become brittle, brings with it an increased risk of bone fractures. It has traditionally been regarded as a women’s disease, resulting from a decrease in estrogen in the post-menopause years.
A recent Australian study reported that one in three males, over the age of 60, will experience a fracture each year because of osteoporosis. A much higher percentage of men over women who suffer from a hip fracture require nursing home care. And of the men who suffer a hip fracture, 20 percent die, usually within six months.
Alarming statistics?
Perhaps, but the same study also suggests that the number of hip fractures in men will double in the next 10 years.
What are the risk factors for osteoporosis in men?
- Poor nutrition – not enough calcium or Vitamin D in diet
- Low levels of the male sex hormone testosterone
- Heredity – if a man’s father has a low bone mineral density
- Unhealthy habits – smoking, alcohol, caffeine consumption
- Insufficient exercise – appropriate stress strengthens bones
- Age – the older a man is, the more likely bone mass loss
- Medical conditions, particularly those related to the thyroid
- Ethnicity – Caucasian and Asian men are more vulnerable
- Small stature – Men who are thinner tend to be more at risk
Some of these risk factors are controllable; others are not. For example, you have some control over your diet and harmful habits, while there isn’t much you can do about your gene pool.
And chiropractic adjustments for patients with osteoporosis? According to a March 2006 article in The Boston Globe, there is little information that suggests that those with osteoporosis are injured by chiropractic adjustments. We can use ''low-force techniques" with patients who have osteoporosis.
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