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What is osteoporosis?
Simply stated, osteoporosis is a
thinning and weakening of the bones that
happens to all of us as we get older. If
this deterioration in our bones goes
untreated , our skeleton eventually will
become extremely fragile, and some bones
will be likely to break or fracture with
very little trauma.
Although the process of bone loss begins
gradually when we are in our mid to late
thirties, it is so slow that it may take
many years before we become aware of it.
Women, generally, are at greater risk of
developing osteoporosis than men
develop. This is because, following the
menopause, women experience a rapid loss
of bone from the skeleton due to the
decrease in estrogen production. |
