Mark Oberlies, M.D. Internal Medicine Physician with Alegent Health Internal Medicine Specialists Find out more about Dr. Oberlies

One out of every three women will develop osteoporosis. It is a thinning of the bones that if left untreated could lead to broken bones. It's more common in women but not unheard of in men.

Jean Fitzpatrick is in pretty good shape. She exercises, eats right and at 75 is pretty active, so imagine her surprise when she found out during a routine exam that she had osteoporosis.

The condition was picked up during a simple test called a Dexascan.  The procedure uses a low dose of x-ray that measures the bone density. It's painless, and the whole thing takes about ten minutes.

Dr. Mark Oberlies, internal medicine physician with Alegent Health Lakeside Internal Medicine Specialists describes osteoporosis like this: "The microscopic architecture of the bone already looks a little like a sponge when it's strong and healthy. An osteoporotic looks like a thinner sponge. The walls are a little thinner; the holes are a little bigger. So the skeleton of the bone is not able to hold up under the weight and stresses that physical activity puts on the bone."

The problem is that you can't see or feel the change in your bones, so for some, the first symptom osteoporosis is a fracture of the hip or arm

Dr. Oberlies adds, "The disability that comes with these fractures is also significant. Fifty percent of hip fracture patients never recover. Twenty-five percent of hip fracture patients end up in a nursing home. Twenty-five percent die in one year. And it turns out that the chance of death after diagnosis of hip fracture is similar to the chance of death after the diagnosis of breast cancer over the course of a lifetime."

Those at risk of osteoporosis include:

• Women with small, thin bodies
• Women going through menopause
• Smokers
• Have a diet low in calcium

You can slow down bone loss by:

• Walking
• Running
• Lifting weights
• Playing tennis or similar activity thirty minutes per day

Although you can slow down osteoporosis, Dr. Oberlies says you can't cure it. Jean Fitzpatrick takes a pill once a day, but says it's a small price to pay to maintain her independence.