Osteoporosis is a health condition suffered by many today of which the hallmark is the loss of the normal bone density and the subsequent fragility of the skeletal bones.

Because of the loss of or the reduction in the bone density in the original skeletal structure, the skeletal bones lose their strength putting the osteoporotic bones at a much higher risk for fracture.

But osteoporosis leads to bones that look like a sponge. These bones are abnormally porous and begin in the worst-case situations to look a lot like Swiss cheese. Osteoporosis weakens the entire skeletal system and puts the sufferer at great risk for bone fracture.

The morbidity associated with bone fractures in the aging population is quite high.

The anecdotal stories recalled time and time again of senior citizens failing to ever really recover from a bone fracture seem to point as clear evidence of the high morbidity of skeletal fractures.

With osteoporosis bone fracture easily.

In fact a minor fall or simple injury that in the majority of the population might only cause a bump or bruise, but in a person suffering from osteoporosis it can lead to a severe fracture.

The wrist, hips, and spine are the most common locations of osteoporosis-related bone fractures; however, osteoporosis-related fractures can also develop in almost any skeletal bone area.

Normal bone is composed of the collagen, calcium, and protein. But with osteoporosis these are no longer well represented.

Fractures associated with osteoporosis can be in the form of a collapse such as in the case with a compression fracture of the vertebrae in the spine or it can be a fracture in the form of a crack such as when you see a complete hip fracture.

While treatment options are more readily available, the key to osteoporosis is prevention. Once a break occurs the ramifications of that will be with you for life.

It seems currently that women have a higher incidence of osteoporosis. This is thought to be related to the many hormonal changes experienced by a woman during her lifetime.

Osteoporosis is a preventable disease.

The morbidity and mortality associated with osteoporosis is something that must be taken seriously.

Make sure that you see your health care provider on a yearly basis in order to have a current assessment about the status of your bone density particularly if you are a woman over the age of 35.