Osteoporosis: Tired bones or tired hormones?? (By: V.Lake)

Whenever I have time on my hands  I always try to visit my grandma. For the past few visits she has been complaining about aching bones and sore feet. She said it even hurts when she sits down too fast! I urged her to visit a doctor, but you know old folks... they always want to try out some herbal medicine or local bush teas to remedy all and any kind of illnesses.

After doing that and still not feeling any relief, she finally decided to stop ignoring my advice and visit her doctor. The next time I went to see her she was telling about the doctor visit. The doctor diagnosed her with osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is a progressive bone disease where the bones become extremely weak and brittle. This makes them much more susceptible to breaks and fractures. Fortunately the disease was in an early stage, so overall it was a mild case.

 My grandma was prescribed calcium supplements, estrogen pills and pain killers. As she was reading the medicine labels, with a confused look printed on her face she blurted out, "Estrogen?!?! At my age that crazy doctor thinks I'm pregnant.. really?? Why he give birth control pills?!"
I could not contain my outbursts of laughter 😂😂.

She was wrong on so many levels!!

I began to educate her about her illness and I explained why the doctor prescribed the estrogen pills. After all... what's the point of studying biology for two years at college if you cant even help those around you right?

Firstly, it is natural for bone loss to occur with aging. The endocrine system and more specifically hormones play an important role in bone health; under-secretion or over-secretion of certain hormones can cause osteoporosis. Bone formation is affected by the sex hormones: testosterone and estrogen in both males and females. The hormones aid in maintaining bone mass and as we age their secretion dwindles. Therefore, the rate of bone loss increases.

In my grandma's case her estrogen level was low due to her age and menopause (ovaries secrete less estrogen). Hence why her bones were becoming weaker. The doctor prescribed the pills, as a form of hormone replacement theory, in combination with calcium supplements  to make her bones stronger. Calcium is responsible for giving bones its hard, strong nature.

Other endocrine/ hormonal causes of osteoporosis include hyperparathyroidism. This is a case where the parathyroid glands, located in the cervical region, become overactive and secrete excess parathyroid hormone (PTH). The over activity is usually as a result of a tumor on one or more of the parathyroid glands and excess PTH secretion rapid bone degradation in order to release calcium into the bloodstream. The excess breakdown of bones causes them to become extremely weak as they lose their hardness and density.

After these explanations my silly grandma realized the doctor wasn't crazy after all. Also, many people believe that osteoporosis is strictly a bone disease and fail to realize that in most cases the underlying cause is some fault with the endocrine system. 

References :

1. Castro, J. (2013). 11 Surprising Facts About the Endocrine System. Live Science. Retrieved 11 February 2017, from http://www.livescience.com/40386-endocrine-system-surprising-facts.html
2. The connections between Osteoporosis & the Endocrine system. Hormone.org. Retrieved 11 February 2017, from http://www.hormone.org/diseases-and-conditions/bone-health/hormones-and-your-bones