Osteoporosis or the porous bone disease happens when you lose too much bone, make too little bone or both. The disease ends up in making your bone weak and likely to break from a minor fall or, in serious cases, even from simple actions such as sneezing or bumping into something hard!

A healthy bone under a microscope looks like a honeycomb. And if you are diagnosed with osteoporosis the holes and spaces in the honeycomb are much bigger than what appears in a healthy bone. This means that the bones have lost density or mass and the structure of the bone tissue has become abnormal.  When the bones become less dense they also become weaker vulnerable to breakage.  Those over 50 years are more prone to broken bone disease.

Broken bones cause severe pain hardly giving any relief. When osteoporosis causes the bones of the spine, called vertebrae, to break or collapse, it affects the posture and causes you to become stooped or hunched. A person suffering from this disease may not be able to move around comfortably and the nagging pain could be a hindrance to the day-to-day activities.

In several cases this problem is known to have brought about feelings of isolation or depression. It can also lead to other health problems. Twenty percent of seniors who break a hip breathe their last within a year. And the others who survive need long-term nursing home care.

Usually broken bones due to osteoporosis are likely to occur in the hip, spine and wrist, but other bones can break too. This silent disease can get your bones weaker without  your knowledge.  If you are experiencing height loss or your spine is curving, it is important to talk to the healthcare professional as the disease may be already be advanced.