According to the National Osteoporosis Foundation, osteoporosis is a disease of the bone that makes a person’s bones weak and more likely to break. Approximately half of all adults age 50 and older are at risk of breaking a bone and should be concerned about bone health. Further, one in two women and up to one in four men will break a bone in their lifetime due to osteoporosis. For women, the incidence is greater than that of heart attack, stroke and breast cancer combined.
Screening for osteoporosis is simple and painless, involving an X-ray machine that measures your bone density. Postmenopausal women should be screened every two years. Men who have risk factors for osteoporosis should also be screened. Ask your primary care physician about osteoporosis screening, which is a Medicare-covered benefit.
And, if you’ve had a fracture after 50, it is essential that you are screened for osteoporosis. Often a fracture is the first warning sign of osteoporosis, and if this condition is treated correctly the first time, future fractures can be prevented.
To learn more, visit www.nof.org.
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