Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of arthritis. OA is a chronic disease characterized by the breakdown of joint cartilage and underlying bone. Nearly 15% of the world’s population suffers from this disease. It is most common among joints in the lower extremities such as the knees and hip.

Diagnosis of Osteoarthritis Osteoarthritis (OA) is typically caught during annual physical exams. During the exam, physicians inspect the joints for swelling, sensitivity, and range of motion. If OA is expected, additional medical tests will be performed. X-ray or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may be performed to visualize changes in the joints.

Unmodifiable Risk Factors for Osteoporosis: Things you can’t do anything about Over age 50 Caucasian or Asian race Dementia Female gender/ postmenopausal women Women are at a much greater risk for osteoporosis than men.  The loss of sex hormones in the body is the most common cause of osteoporosis. Women experience a decline in estrogen, the female sex hormone, when they undergo menopause.

Before talking about what causes osteoporosis, let’s look at the functions of bones. Bones serve as a large reservoir of calcium and to support the skeletal system. Bones are constantly regenerating as a way to get rid of old bone tissue and strengthen the bones with new bone tissue. It is estimated that the skeleton is completely replaced approximately over 4 years. Bone building, known as “remodeling” is the process of resorption and formation.

atients with osteoporosis have weak, brittle bones that are at risk of breaking easily. Osteoporosis literally means “porous bones” and is the result of several modifiable factors, such as diet and exercise and non-modifiable factors such as age, sex, and race. Bones, like other tissue in the body, are self-renewing—up to a point.

It can be hard to tell if you have Parkinson’s disease. Symptoms of the disease differ from person to person. They also change as the disease progresses. Symptoms that one person gets in the early stages of Parkinsons, another person may not get until later-or not at all. People start showing signs of the disease between the ages of 50 to 60.