Q: What is osteoporosis?
A: Osteoporosis is a bone thinning disease that causes your bones to become weak and more likely to break. As the bones weaken, people with osteoporosis can experience:

1. Broken bones
2. Pain
3. Loss of height
4. Humped back

At first, osteoporosis works “ silently”, with no symptoms you can feel. Over time, however, it produces a harmful level of bone loss – as much as 30-40%. When this occurs, your bones become weak. They can break (fracture) during normal activities or from minor falls.
Broken bones in the back (spinal fractures) from osteoporosis are very common. Spinal fractures often cause back pain, loss of height, and a humped back. Your body cannot restore spinal fractures to normal. Osteoporosis can also lead to fractures of the hip or wrist. A hip fracture can cause you to be hospitalized. Later you may need help with daily activities.
The good news is that you can know your bone density if you get osteoporosis or not quite easily by DXA examination. You and your doctor can help stop bone loss in your spine or hip, from osteoporosis, with the medical therapy.