Osteoporosis is a dysbalance in the continuous build-up and breakdown of bone substance, which results in a reduction in bone density. The most at risk are older people who suffer a reduction in bone density simply due to aging processes, and among them especially women after the menopause, as the hormonal changes can have a negative effect on bone density. However, long-term use of cortisone preparations, for example in the case of autoimmune or allergic diseases (e.g. bronchial asthma), can also lead to osteoporosis. The reduced density increases the risk of bone fractures enormously, so that sometimes it does not even require an accident to break a bone!
Causes of the pain
Pain in osteoporosis is usually manifested by sudden onset of (back) pain caused by the fracture of a vertebral body or other bone. This fracture in turn is favored by the reduced bone density in osteoporosis. The latter is not painful, so that a bone fracture (often the fracture of a vertebral body) is often the first, but all the more painful, encounter of the patient with his osteoporosis – similar to high blood pressure, which is not unnoticed for years and is only discovered after a heart attack.
Associated symptoms
In addition to the pain, a hunchback can often be observed. This is due to the fact that vertebral bodies do not break “with a jerk” but collapse slowly and steadily under the load of the body above. Since the load in the front, i.e. the area facing the abdomen, is particularly high, the vertebral bodies often break in a wedge shape, resulting in a backward bending of the spine and thus a hunchback.
The malposition of the spine caused by the deformation of the vertebral bodies can cause tension in the muscles surrounding the spine. These manifest themselves as pulling neck and back pain, which can radiate up into the cranial region and cause protracted headaches. Since the vertebral bodies are compressed by the weight resting on them, some patients notice a decrease in height as the disease progresses.
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