Osteoporosis, Definition and Causes

What is Osteoporosis?

Osteoporosis is a condition of decreased bone mass. This leads to fragile bones which are at an increased risk for fractures. In fact, it will take much less stress to an osteoporotic bone to cause it to fracture. The term "porosis" means spongy, which describes the appearance of osteoporosis bones when they are broken in half and the inside is examined. Normal bone marrow has small holes within it, but a bone with osteoporosis will have much larger holes. This picture shows a bone with osteoporosis on the top with large spongy holes, and a normal bone on the top with normal small passageways. In severe osteoporosis, this can be exaggerated much more than shown here!

What are the Causes of Osteoporosis?


The strength of your bones depends on their size and density; bone density depends in part on the amount of calcium, phosphorus and other minerals bones contain. When your bones contain fewer minerals than normal, they're less strong and eventually lose their internal supporting structure. The process of bone remodeling.

Scientists have yet to learn all the reasons why this occurs, but the process involves how bone is made. Bone is continuously changing — new bone is made and old bone is broken down — a process called remodeling, or bone turnover. A full cycle of bone remodeling takes about two to three months. When you're young, your body makes new bone faster than it breaks down old bone, and your bone mass increases.

You reach your peak bone mass in your mid-30s. After that, bone remodeling continues, but you lose slightly more than you gain. At menopause, when estrogen levels drop, bone loss in women increases dramatically.

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