Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis (loss of bone mass) is a metabolic diseases of the skeleton in which bone loses its rigidity and becomes porous.
We think of bone as a rigid, firm substance that hardly changes at all. But in actual fact, in a healthy body there is a constant balance between the breakdown and formation of bony substance. If, however, more bone is broken down than is newly formed, there is an overall loss of bony substance. This marks the beginning of osteoporosis. Bones lose their strength and become more easily broken. As well as forearms and thigh bones, the spine is particularly susceptible. Damaged vertebrae collapse and permanent deformities such as the typical "dowager's hump" develop. This is one form of a rounded back, which is solely attributable to osteoporosis. The alarm signals of abnormal bone loss are severe pain in the spine or the breast bone. Such pain indicates that already one or more vertebrae have collapsed.
Osteoporosis is a widespread disease. It has been estimated that more than eight million Germans suffer from osteoporosis, of which about 80 per cent are women.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has included osteoporosis in the list of the world's ten most important diseases. This decision was based on both the consequences of the disease for patients as well as the high costs of treatment.