Health Topic

Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is a disease that weakens your bones and makes them more likely to break or fracture. There are no symptoms until the first bone break.

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Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.

About Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is a disease in which your bones become weak and are likely to fracture (break). The disease can develop when your bone mineral density and bone mass decrease. It can also happen if the structure and strength of your bones change.

Osteoporosis is called a "silent" disease because it doesn't usually cause symptoms. You may not even know you have the disease until you break a bone. This could happen with any bone, but it's most common in the bones of your hip, vertebrae in the spine, and wrist.

Your bones are made of living tissue. To keep them strong, your body breaks down old bone and replaces it with new bone. Osteoporosis develops when more bone is broken down than replaced. You lose bone mass and changes happen in the structure of your bone tissue. This can happen as you get older. Other risk factors can also lead to the development of osteoporosis or increase your chance of developing the disease.

Anyone can develop osteoporosis, but you are more likely to develop it if you have one or more risk factors:

  • Your sex. Osteoporosis is more common in women, especially after menopause (postmenopausal).
  • Your age. Your risk increases as you get older. It is most common in people over age 50.
  • Your body size. It is more common in people who are slim and thin boned.
  • Your race: White and Asian women are at highest risk.
  • African American and Mexican American women have a lower risk.
  • White men are at higher risk than African American and Mexican American men.
  • Corticosteroids
  • Proton pump inhibitors (which treat GERD)
  • Medicines to treat epilepsy
  • Endocrine diseases
  • Certain digestive diseases
  • Rheumatoid arthritis
  • Certain types of cancer
  • HIV
  • Anorexia nervosa, a type of eating disorder
  • Smoking tobacco
  • Long-term heavy alcohol use
  • Physical inactivity or prolonged periods of bedrest

Osteoporosis usually doesn't cause symptoms. You may not know that you have it until you break a bone.

Health care providers often diagnose osteoporosis during routine screening for the disease. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends screening for:

  • Women age 65 and older
  • Postmenopausal women under age 65 who have factors that increase the chance of developing osteoporosis

For men, it isn't clear yet whether regular screening is helpful. More research is needed to know for sure.

To find out if you have osteoporosis, your provider:

  • Will ask about your medical history and whether you have ever broken a bone
  • May do a physical exam, which could include checking for: A loss of height and/or weight
  • Changes in your posture
  • Balance and gait (the way you walk)
  • Your muscle strength

The goals for treating osteoporosis are to slow or stop bone loss and to prevent fractures. Your provider may recommend:

  • A healthy, balanced diet that includes enough calcium, vitamin D, and protein
  • Lifestyle changes such as quitting smoking and limiting alcohol
  • Regular physical activity including weight-bearing exercise (like walking), strength training, and balance exercises
  • Fall prevention to help prevent fractures
  • Medicines, such as: Medicines that slow down bone loss
  • Medicines that help rebuild bone

In addition to managing your osteoporosis, it's important to avoid activities that may cause a fracture. These can include movements that involve:

  • Twisting your spine, like swinging a golf club
  • Bending forward from the waist, like sit ups and toe touches

You can also help reduce the risk of breaking a bone by preventing falls.

To help keep bones strong and help prevent osteoporosis, the best thing to do is to eat a healthy diet rich in calcium and vitamin D. Getting regular physical activity, limiting alcohol, and not smoking can also help.

It sits within Women, Older Adults and Bones, Joints and Muscles.

The lead U.S. institute for this subject is the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases.

When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.

Research on Osteoporosis

1,889 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.

What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.

Research currently under way

Research already completed

Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.

Where to read more

Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.

Start Here

  • OsteoporosisNational Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases

Diagnosis and Tests

Treatments and Therapies

Prevention and Risk Factors

Related Issues

Genetics

Statistics and Research

Clinical Trials

Medical subject headings

Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Osteoporosis, Osteoporotic Fractures. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.

This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Osteoporosis, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.