Care for Men’s Osteoporosis

Men are at risk for developing brittle bones, just like women

A man is sure to be surprised if you tell him he needs to be tested for osteoporosis, a disease that causes your bones to get thin and brittle. Most men look at osteoporosis the same way as breast cancer – they think it only happens to women. Osteoporosis is most common in women after menopause, but it also occurs in men.

At Lehigh Valley Health Network, we treat men with osteoporosis. It is responsible for 1.5 million spine, hip and wrist fractures each year. About one-quarter of these occur in men, and the figure rises to one-third in men age 80 and older. However, bone fractures can occur even in young men.

If you use medications containing steroids, you are at highest risk for developing osteoporosis. Alcohol abuse, smoking, kidney disease, heredity and lowered testosterone are also significant risk factors.

While it’s natural for your testosterone to decline with age, there should not be a rapid drop, as occurs with estrogen in post-menopausal women. However, certain medications can lower a man’s testosterone and deplete bone mass. These include steroids, Dilantin (used to treat seizures and epilepsy) and hormone treatments for prostate cancer.

A warning sign of osteoporosis is sudden, extreme lower back pain that is unrelieved by pain medication. With osteoporosis, you can trigger a compression fracture in your spine just by bending down.

To prevent fractures, know your risk factors and have a bone density test at the health network to find it early. If you do have osteoporosis, we’ll design a treatment plan for you that includes calcium, vitamin D, resistance and weight training and, if necessary, bone-rebuilding medication.

This page last updated 1/10/09 10:54 AM