What is osteoporosis?

Osteoporosis is described as a condition that causes weak bones and as a result is a risk of fracturing very easily, even following a minor fall or trip. A ‘fracture’ and ‘broken bone’ means the same thing. Bones that are broken easily are called fragility fractures. Fragility fractures can happen as a result of Osteoporosis. The most common fragility fractures happen in our wrists, hips or spine. Bones are made up of many living cells in the body. These cells are dynamic, and are constantly changing. They change and adapt in response to the way we live. Overall women are more likely to be affected by Osteoporosis. Women will lose bone mass at the time of menopause due to a reduction in the hormone estrogen. The rapid bone loss results from an increase in bone turnover with an imbalance between bone resorption and bone formation. Osteoporosis does affect men and younger people. When this happens, it is likely caused by another medical condition or by taking medication such as steroids for another medical condition. Bones affected by osteoporosis are often pain free but you can develop fractures from osteoporosis which become painful.Dry needling is used as an effective method to treat muscle pain and stiffness, headaches, back pain, nerve pain and many conditions such as tennis elbow. It is especially effective with sports injuries. With Dry needling the needles are used to target the trigger points or “knots” in the muscles that are causing the problem. The needle is gently inserted into the trigger point in the muscle and a local twitch response is felt. The trigger point is then released and the muscle relaxes, resulting in reduced pain and stiffness.