Other bone diseases

Osteoporosis, also called bone loss, is a disease of the skeletal system in which bone substances and structures are lost or greatly reduced. This reduction in bone mass causes the tissue structure of the bone to deteriorate and it loses stability and elasticity. As a result, the bones become more susceptible to fractures; in extreme cases, a fracture can even occur without a fall.

Due to the increased risk of fracture, the bone can collapse, which is then particularly evident in the area of the vertebral bodies through visible changes. Paget’s disease is a disease that has been little researched to date and can affect not only bones but also female reproductive organs such as the breast. If the disease affects the skeleton, several bones are usually affected.

In the course of time, the solid bone structure is transformed into a preliminary stage of bone tissue. This remodelling also results in an increase in the circumference of the bones. Mainly the pelvic bones, the spine, the bones of the legs or the skull are affected.

Persons over the age of forty are mainly affected by this disease. Most patients are conspicuous by diffuse pain in the affected bones. If the skull bone is also affected, previously purchased hats no longer fit because the head circumference has increased.

In addition, spontaneous fractures can occur, i.e. bone fractures caused by situations that would normally not be sufficient to cause a fracture. The so-called brittle bone disease is a genetically inherited disease of bone stability.Due to defects in a protein that is important for the stability of the skeleton, the affected patients already suffer bone fractures as a result of minor violence. A therapy of the disease is not possible because the disease has a purely genetic origin.

The only possibility is the best possible consideration of the patients and the patient’s environment to prevent bone fractures. These two terms refer to “bone softening”, which is caused by a lack of calcium and phosphate being incorporated into the bone. In adults it is called osteomalacia, in children it is called rickets.

The main cause is a vitamin D deficiency. Patients are primarily noticed by skeletal pain. On closer examination, there is also a recognizable deformation of the so-called long tubular bones, i.e. the upper arm and thigh bones.

This can result in the formation of X- or O-legs. Scoliosis is a disease of the spine that usually begins in early adolescence. If you stand behind the affected person, a shift of the spine to the left or right side can be observed.

In contrast to scoliotic malpositioning, “real” scoliosis also involves a twisting of the vertebral bodies. Girls are significantly more frequently affected than boys. They usually become conspicuous during a pubertal growth spurt, during which an oblique position can be detected. Osteonecrosis (also known as bone necrosis) is an infarction of all or part of the bone, which leads to the death of tissue. In principle, osteonecrosis can occur in any bone in the body, even in the big toe: Renander’s disease.