Osteoporosis is a systematic skeleton disease which is characterized by a low bone mass and a disorder of the microstructure of the bone tissue with consecutively increased bone brittleness and increased risk of fracture.  It is the most frequent bone disease in the Federal Republic of Germany.

The assumption that osteoporosis was always a normal consequence of the ageing process is wrong, because also young people can fall ill with osteoporosis. It occurs, however, far more often with people from age 40 on. The causes range from lack of estrogen, malnutrition, inactivity, lack of calcium to intake of cortisone.

With osteoporosis it is particularly important to detect the disease at an early stage, because damages can only be conditionally reversed. First warning signs are dull backaches occurring because the loss of bone density at the spinal column leads to negative effects.

Pain in the spinal column and extremity is often reported. With it, sudden bone fractures (often neck of femur and vertebral body) often occur and should give rise to harden the suspicion of this disease by means of carrying out further examinations.

The investigation methods that are applied in the ARTICO Sports Clinic this are:

Clinical examination together with carrying out a check for, among other things, a so-called “Widow Hump” and fir tree phenomenon, palpation, among other things, on spinal column knock and compression pain as well as  incoming anamnesis
X-ray examination
Bone density measurement including computer tomography (pQCT) with a quantitative X-ray analysis

Due to these state-of-the-art examination methods diseases can be excluded which like osteoporosis show a diminished mineral content in the radiograph (malign diseases, other bone metabolism and hereditary diseases) or cause similar aches and pains.