Osteoarthritis of the Knee - Does Osteoporosis Play a Role?

First, lets distinguish between the two.Osteoporosis needs to be treated with dietary
Osteoporosis is a systemic skeletal disease thatchanges, calcium and vitamin D supplements, and
results in decreased bone density and an alteration inmedication such as bisphosphonates - talk to your
the bony architecture. It does not directly cause pain.doctor about these.
A more simple definition would be " a bone disorderOsteoarthritis needs to be addressed via a program
that results in decreased bone strength and anof weight loss, exercise, analgesia and if
increased risk of fracture."required,surgery.
Osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint diseaseIt is common sense to target both conditions
characterized by the loss of articular cartilage andsimultaneously if required. As a general rule,
results in pain, stiffness and decreased mobility.osteoporosis treatment does not get in the way of
Because both are common in the older age group,arthritis treatments. Many good hospitals now include
the two often get confused. Many times I havean osteoporosis risk profile questionnaire as part of
heard people blame their pain on osteoporosis whentheir treatment of osteoarthritis.
this is not the case.Many people do not realize they have osteoporosis
The concerns with osteoporosis are the increaseduntil they suffer a fracture - it creeps up silently.
risk of future fracture, with osteoarthritis, it's pain,Osteoarthritis is anything but silent with a gradual
deformity, and loss of mobility.increase in symptoms,the primary one being pain.
There are of course many people unfortunateThese two separate diseases of the bone don't
enough to have both of these common diseasedirectly affect each other but commonly occur in
processes active at the one time. However, differenttandem. A knowledge of both would be beneficial for
diseases take different approaches to address them.the majority of patients.