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Tips for Diabetics with Osteopenia and Osteoporosis

If you are a type 1 or type 2 diabetic, you have more risk of becoming osteoporotic. Osteoporosis causes lowered bone density, mostly in women, but it can happen in men also. It was once thought that only type 1 diabetics were at risk and type 2 diabetics were protected from developing osteoporosis, but it was later found that this assumption was not accurate. In fact, many people with type 2 diabetes find out they are diabetic through at the same time they are diagnosed with osteoporosis, because they may have broken a bone, or suffered a compression fracture of the spine and gone to the hospital for treatment. While being treated in a hospital, more often than not, hospital lab work will indicate that the individual has type 2 diabetes. Most people discover they have type 2 diabetes when they are being treated for something else, because for a long time the symptoms may go unnoticed by the individual. The following tips may help you prevent osteoporosis, or help to confirm that you may have it. If you think you may have osteopenia, or osteoporosis, see your doctor as soon as possible to be checked. Nearly half of all postmenopausal women already have osteopenia. You may be able to prevent or at least postpone the onset of osteoporosis, by taking measures to reduce bone loss.

If you are a type 1 or a type 2 diabetic, you should have your bone density checked yearly, because there seems to be a slowing down of the osteoblasts, which are the live bone cells. There is also a threat of bone loss in younger people with diabetes type 1. With osteoporosis, you have decreased bone mass, or bone density, which makes your bones weaker and more fragile. You can fracture a hip, foot, ankle or vertebrae very easily, just by moving the wrong way. You might be playing ball with your child and suddenly get pain in your foot, hip, or back. Often time, It won’t be until you get it checked out that you discover you have osteoporosis, or osteopenia.

If you are postmenopausal, you have a higher risk of developing osteopenia and osteoporosis, and if you are also a diabetic, you have increased your risk of developing bone loss. You may be confused about what osteopenia is in relation to osteoporosis; the difference is that osteopenia is the loss of bone mass below normal levels. Osteopenia and osteoporosis puts you at higher risk of fracture, but osteoporosis is much more serious. In osteoporosis, you lose so much bone mass that your bones become very fragile, and a fracture could happen spontaneously due to stress on the weakened bone. When you add diabetes to the mix, your risk of bone loss is compounded even more.

We depend on the normal functioning of our cells, so we can be healthy and survive. Your bone cells are alive, and they need nourishment from glucose, just like every other cell in your body. You might think of your bones as non-living material, such as calcium and other minerals, but your bones are very much alive. If your blood sugar is frequently low, your bone cells, osteoblasts, cannot get the nourishment they need to divide and multiply to form new bone cells. If your blood glucose level is frequently elevated your bone cells will become damaged, because excess blood glucose damages the cells of all your organ systems, including the skeletal system. Most of your body’s dysfunction can be avoided by keeping your blood sugar levels within normal limits, or at least near normal levels.

if you have osteopenia or osteoporosis you may be able to reduce your risks of fracture by making positive changes to your lifestyle, such as adhering to a healthy diabetic diet, and increasing your exercise. In order for your bones to get stronger you must be able to bear weight on your bones, and engage in some form of weight bearing exercise. Walking is one of the best exercises you can do to reduce the effects of osteopenia and osteoporosis.

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