Osteopenia bone fractures

Osteopenia bone fractures.  Researchers have found that women diagnosed with Osteopenia have more forearm fragility fractures that those diagnosed with the more serious bone loss of Osteoporosis.

In human beings and other mammals bone  is generally classified into two types:

1. Cortical bone, also known as compact bone and 

2. Trabecular bone, which also known as cancellous or spongy bone. 

Cortical bone forms the outer, dense layer of your bones.  It is much denser  than  your inner Trabecular bone. Your cortical bone is not very flexible. That is why it  often breaks when unexpected pressure is placed on it. 

Researchers have found that women with Osteoporosis the loss of bone,  including that of their forearm bones, was seen in their bone mineral density tests (dexa scans etc). But surprisingly data also shows that women with Osteopenia, not Osteoporosis, suffer more forearm fractures that those with Osteoporosis.

This is an unexpected finding. The question is why do women with Osteopenia suffer more fractures? Some researchers have hypothesized that this is the case because health care providers tend to treat Osteoporosis so much more agressively than Osteopenia.

If a woman's dexa scan shows Osteoporosis, her medical provider is likely to prescribe an Osteoporosis drug. But if her dexa scan shows Osteopenia, drug treatment might not be initiated  Instead the doctor may counseled the woman to eat a more alkaline diet or engage in weight bearing activities  (scroll down the page to find them)  and then to return in a year or two for another bone density test. 

Meantime if a woman trips and/or begins to fall, she is likely to put her arm out to break a fall. And she may suffer a forearm fracture  because of the weakness of her cortical bones AND the fact that most medical providers, including hers, do not treat Osteopenia...only Osteoporosis.

What can women do to prevent Osteopenia bone fractures of their forearms?

There are several things that can be helpful:

1. A woman can bring a copy of the study cited above and show it to her health care provider and then ask for appropriate treatment.

If a woman feels she is not ready to do this on her own, I suggest bringing a friend along to the appointment. It may help. Really. Having a friend with your not only offers you support but in many cases a health care provider may respond more attentively if there is someone else in the room with you.  Please, do whatever you need.  You do not want to suffer a fracture of your forearm. It is not only inconvenient; it can be painful.

2. A woman can read and follow ideas from sections of this site that address natural treatments that have been shown to  increase bone density including

those that involve the use of weights and  those dealing with balance and co-ordination exercises.

If you have low bone density in your forearms, you want to avoid any situation where you might put your arm out to break a fall. Avoiding falls needs to be a central focus until your cortical bone gets rebuilt. And that is likely to take a good two years or more.

Read about scientific: Natural treatments to reverse  Osteopenia, Osteoporosis

To read additional way to increase your bone density and prevent Osteopenia bone fractures go to the site Index page