Mrs. Lessman is a 63-year-old woman who reports constant back pain. Further inquiry into her medical history revealed that over the past 3 years, she has suffered fractures of her femur and wrist after minor falls. She experienced menopause at age 49. Mrs. Lessman has a secretarial job, drives to work, and she “does not have time for exercise.” She reports that she consumes 8 to 10 cups of coffee a day and has been a smoker most of her adult life. She has not seen her physician recently nor had a recommended bone density test because of the time and cost involved.
Question 1
Relate Mrs. Lessman’s history to the diagnosis of osteoporosis. What risk factors are present, and how does each predispose to decreased bone density?
Osteoporosis is a condition that weakens the born leading to loss of calcification and worsens with time. In severe scenarios, the boon appears to be like a honeycomb. Women and the elderly are at greater risk of getting the infection. The disease can be caused by hereditary factors, lifestyle and low body weight are some of the things that influence an individual to having the disease. A person can have the condition for a long time with no side effects emerging, some of the symptoms are severe back pain, stooped stance, loss of stature and bone cracking easily from minor accidents.
Deducing from the case of Mrs. Lessman, her risk factors comprise of driving, lack of exercise, excessive coffee consumption and smoking. Usually, lack of enough calcium and other mineral intake, aging and lifestyle habits such as smoking lead to low bone density among women. The stated risk factors are the predisposing factors for Mrs. Lessman.
There is substantive body of literature which has associated cigarette smoking with reduced bone thickness. Moreover, ladies who smoke tend to have early menopause compared to nonsmokers. These factors are definite predisposing factors for developing osteoporosis and also affect bone mending when injured.
Question 2
Explain the cause of pathological fractures in this patient.
Pathological factures often occur when the bone cracks especially in places whereby the bone has been weakened by another disease. Some of the reasons for weakened bones are osteoporosis, acquired bone conditions, contamination and tumors among others. For Mrs. Lessman, osteoporosis is the major cause of her experiencing pathological fractures which came in existence from the falls that she experienced.
Question 3
How could osteoporosis have been prevented in Mrs. Lessman?
Osteoporosis could have been prevented in Mrs. Lessman by restricting her caffeine intake. Also, she could have been advised to quit smoking. Menopause and high caffeine intake acted as catalysts for her getting the condition. On the contrary, she could have increased her intake of milk and minerals such as calcium. Smoking is dangerous as it causes the end of capillary constriction thus affecting the healing process of bones. It is important for Mrs. Lessman to increase her rate of doing exercises. Furthermore, she should visit her doctor often to finish the bone density examination.
Question 4
Discuss the treatments available to the patient.
The first treatment invention is making sure that the patient quits smoking. She should also increase her intake of foods that are rich in calcium and vitamin D. exercise has also been identified to be very essential for bones. It is important that she takes a bone thickness examination for different parts of the body. This will be important as it can prevent further bone breaking in the future. Even though there is no particular cure for the condition, these interventions can be helpful in preventing the condition from worsening.
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