Bone density
Bone density, also known as bone mass, refers to the amount of bone tissue in a specific volume of bone, serving as an important indicator of bone strength and health. It is crucial for providing structural support to the body's organs and tissues. Bone density peaks around the age of 30, after which the process of bone remodeling slows down, leading to a gradual loss of bone mass. This decline can result in conditions like osteopenia, characterized by low bone mass without an increased risk of fractures, and osteoporosis, which significantly raises the risk of bone fractures and complicates healing.
Several factors influence bone density, including age, diet, exercise, and overall health. A diet deficient in calcium can hinder the body’s ability to maintain bone density, while insufficient vitamin D and lack of physical activity can further exacerbate bone loss. Since rebuilding lost bone density is challenging, it is advisable to adopt habits that promote bone health from an early age, such as maintaining a balanced diet rich in calcium and engaging in regular exercise. Regular bone mineral density tests can help assess an individual's bone health, providing valuable insights for preventative care.
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Bone density
Bone density refers to the amount of bone tissue present in a specific amount of bone. Also known as bone mass, bone density is a measure of bones' strength and health. Having bones with sufficient bone mass is important because bones provide a strong structure for the rest of the organs and tissues in the body. Measuring bone density can help medical professionals determine whether a person has osteoporosis or osteopenia, two conditions that indicate bones are weak and may break more easily.
Overview
When bones are seen outside a living body, they seem hard and solid. Living bones, however, are made up of several layers of materials with different functions. For instance, bone marrow is a soft, gelatinous material in the center of bones that makes blood cells. It is encased in layers of compact bone—the hard part seen in a skeleton—and cancellous bone, a layer that is strong and hard but has holes like a sponge.
In addition to providing shape and form to the rest of the body, bones serve as storage facilities for calcium and phosphorous the body uses for other purposes. When another body system needs calcium, special hormones break down an area of bone to release it. The body then needs new calcium to replace what was removed and to restore the bone. This process, called bone remodeling, along with other factors such as age, amount of exercise, medications, and overall health, can affect the density of a person's bones.
Bone mass, or density, is how medical professionals determine how much healthy bone tissue a person has within a certain volume of bone. It is measured by a bone mineral density test, which provides a result called a T-score. The painless, noninvasive test uses a type of X-ray to measure the bone at the hip and spine.
Bone density reaches a peak when a healthy person is about thirty years old. After that age, the bone rebuilding process slows, and a person begins to lose more bone than is built. Remodeled areas are not fully restored, and the bone develops more holes in its structure.
A reduction in bone density can result in low bone mass and lead to two diseases. Osteopenia is a condition of low bone mass that is serious but does not yet present an increased risk of bone breakage. Osteoporosis is a condition of low bone density that makes a person more susceptible to breaking a bone. Osteoporosis also makes it harder for a broken bone to heal.
Factors that affect bone density include age and diet. A diet lacking in calcium will decrease the amount of calcium available to be stored in bones and increase the body's need to deplete the calcium that is stored for other body systems. Lack of exercise, low levels of vitamin D, and certain health conditions that make the body use more calcium can also reduce bone density. Since it is hard to rebuild bone density once it is lost, medical professionals say the best way to have healthy bones is to build and maintain them from a young age.
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