Osteoarthritis of the Knee - Does Osteoporosis Play a Role?

First, lets distinguish between the two.

Osteoporosis is a systemic skeletal disease that results in decreased bone density and an alteration in the bony architecture. It does not directly cause pain. A more simple definition would be " a bone disorder that results in decreased bone strength and an increased risk of fracture."

Osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disease characterized by the loss of articular cartilage and results in pain, stiffness and decreased mobility.

Because both are common in the older age group, the two often get confused. Many times I have heard people blame their pain on osteoporosis when this is not the case.

The concerns with osteoporosis are the increased risk of future fracture, with osteoarthritis, it's pain, deformity, and loss of mobility.

There are of course many people unfortunate enough to have both of these common disease processes active at the one time. However, different diseases take different approaches to address them.

Osteoporosis needs to be treated with dietary changes, calcium and vitamin D supplements, and medication such as bisphosphonates - talk to your doctor about these.

Osteoarthritis needs to be addressed via a program of weight loss, exercise, analgesia and if required,surgery.

It is common sense to target both conditions simultaneously if required. As a general rule, osteoporosis treatment does not get in the way of arthritis treatments. Many good hospitals now include an osteoporosis risk profile questionnaire as part of their treatment of osteoarthritis.

Many people do not realize they have osteoporosis until they suffer a fracture - it creeps up silently.

Osteoarthritis is anything but silent with a gradual increase in symptoms,the primary one being pain.

These two separate diseases of the bone don't directly affect each other but commonly occur in tandem. A knowledge of both would be beneficial for the majority of patients.