Symptoms of Osteoporosis

List of symptoms of Osteoporosis:

The list of signs and symptoms mentioned in various sources for Osteoporosis includes the 13 symptoms listed below:

• Early symptoms:
  • No early symptoms - in many cases there is no indication of gradually thinning bones
  • Joint aches
  • Muscle aches
• Symptoms of bone weakness from advanced osteoporosis:
  • Thin bones
  • Brittle bones
  • Weak bones
  • Fractures
  • Fracturing easily
  • Backache
  • Loss of height
  • Spine deformation

Note that Osteoporosis symptoms usually refers to various symptoms known to a patient, but the phrase Osteoporosis signs may refer to those signs only noticable by a doctor.

More ways to research these symptoms: To research other symptoms use the symptom center, or to research causes of more than one symptom in combination, try our multi-symptom search.

Research More About Osteoporosis

Do I have Osteoporosis?

• Osteoporosis: Introduction
• Osteoporosis: Diagnostic Testing to confirm diagnosis
• Home Diagnostic Testing
• Alternative diagnoses and misdiagnosis for Osteoporosis
• Failure to Diagnose Osteoporosis
• Hidden Causes of Osteoporosis
• Treatments for Osteoporosis
• More about Osteoporosis

Home Diagnostic Testing

Home medical tests related to Osteoporosis:

• Osteoporosis & Bone Health: Home Testing:
  • Home Osteoporosis Tests
  • Home Bone Loss Tests

Wrongly Diagnosed with Osteoporosis?

The list of other diseases or medical conditions that may be on the differential diagnosis list of alternative diagnoses for Osteoporosis includes:

• Osteomalacia
• Rickets
• Multiple myeloma
• Metastatic cancer
• Paget's disease of bone

See the full list of 13 alternative diagnoses for Osteoporosis

More about symptoms of Osteoporosis:

More information about symptoms of Osteoporosis and related conditions:

• Other diseases with similar symptoms and common misdiagnoses
• Tests to determine if these are the symptoms of Osteoporosis
• Symptoms that may be caused by complications of Osteoporosis
• Underlying causes of Osteoporosis
• Associated conditions for Osteoporosis
• Risk factors for Osteoporosis

Other Possible Causes of these Symptoms

Click on any of the symptoms below to see a full list of other causes including diseases, medical conditions, toxins, drug interactions, or drug side effect causes of that symptom.

• Backache - see all causes of Backache
• Brittle bones - see all causes of Weak bones
• Fractures - see all causes of Fractures
• Fracturing easily - see all causes of Fractures
• Joint aches - see all causes of Joint pain
• Loss of height - see all causes of Poor growth
• Muscle aches - see all causes of Muscle aches
• No early symptoms - see all causes of No symptoms
• Spine deformation - see all causes of Spine symptoms
• Thin bones - see all causes of Weak bones
• Weak bones - see all causes of Weak bones

Medical Books Online about Osteoporosis

Medical Books Excerpts Excerpts of published medical book chapters related to Osteoporosis are available from published medical books for more detailed information about Osteoporosis.

Copyright notice for book excerpts: Copyright © 2008 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.

Related videos for Osteoporosis

Patient Surveys for Osteoporosis

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Symptoms of Osteoporosis: Online Medical Books

16 MEDICAL BOOKS ONLINE! Review excerpts from medical books online, free, without registration, for more information about the symptoms of Osteoporosis.

Osteoporosis: Signs and symptoms
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))

Osteoporosis is usually discovered incidentally on roentgenograms; the patient may have been asymptomatic for years. Vertebral collapse, causing a backache with pain that radiates around the trunk, is the most common presenting feature. Any movement or jarring aggravates the backache.

In another common pattern, osteoporosis can develop insidiously, with increasing deformity, kyphosis, and loss of height. Sometimes a dowager hump is present. As bones weaken, spontaneous wedge fractures, pathologic fractures of the neck or femur, Colles’fractures after a minor fall, and hip fractures become increasingly common.

ELDER TIP Osteoporosis, usually affecting older people, is a major risk factor in vertebral compression fractures and hip fractures.

Osteoporosis primarily affects the weight-bearing vertebrae. Only when the condition is advanced or severe, as in Cushing’s syndrome or hyperthyroidism, do comparable changes occur in the skull, ribs, and long bones.

READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Osteoporosis: Signs and symptoms
(Handbook of Diseases)

Osteoporosis is usually discovered when an elderly person bends to lift something, hears a snapping sound, and then feels a sudden pain in the lower back. Vertebral collapse, producing a backache with pain that radiates around the trunk, is the most common presenting feature. Any movement or jarring aggravates the backache.

In another common pattern, osteoporosis can develop insidiously, with increasing deformity, kyphosis, loss of height, and a markedly aged appearance. As vertebral bodies weaken, spontaneous wedge fractures, pathologic fractures of the neck and femur, Colles’fractures after a minor fall, and hip fractures are all common.

Osteoporosis primarily affects the weight-bearing vertebrae. Only when the condition is advanced or severe, as in Cushing’s syndrome or hyperthyroidism, do comparable changes occur in the skull, ribs, and long bones.

READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Article Excerpts About Symptoms of Osteoporosis:

Losing height or having a bone break easily is often the first sign of osteoporosis. Bone density is a term that describes how solid your bones are. (Source: excerpt from Osteoporosis - Age Page - Health Information: NIA)

Osteoporosis as a Cause of Symptoms or Medical Conditions

When considering symptoms of Osteoporosis, it is also important to consider Osteoporosis as a possible cause of other medical conditions. The Disease Database lists the following medical conditions that Osteoporosis may cause:

• Back pain
• Pathological fracture
• Schmorl's nodes

Osteoporosis as a symptom:

For a more detailed analysis of Osteoporosis as a symptom, including causes, drug side effect causes, and drug interaction causes, please see our Symptom Center information for Osteoporosis.

Medical articles and books on symptoms:

These general reference articles may be of interest in relation to medical signs and symptoms of disease in general:

• Diagnostic Testing for a Diagnosis of Osteoporosis
• Research Alternative Diagnoses for Osteoporosis
• More about Osteoporosis
• Online Diagnosis
• Self Diagnosis Pitfalls
• Pitfalls of Online Diagnosis
• Symptoms of the Silent Killer Diseases
• Lesser known silent killer diseases
• Books on signs and symptoms

Full list of premium articles on symptoms and diagnosis

About signs and symptoms of Osteoporosis:

The symptom information on this page attempts to provide a list of some possible signs and symptoms of Osteoporosis. This signs and symptoms information for Osteoporosis has been gathered from various sources, may not be fully accurate, and may not be the full list of Osteoporosis signs or Osteoporosis symptoms. Furthermore, signs and symptoms of Osteoporosis may vary on an individual basis for each patient. Only your doctor can provide adequate diagnosis of any signs or symptoms and whether they are indeed Osteoporosis symptoms.