What Men Need to Know - The Man's Guide to Osteoporosis

Men get osteoporosis too. If you think you can’t get osteoporosis because you’re a man, think again. Although women are at greater risk, osteoporosis can affect men also. As our population ages, even more men will get the disease.

Download The Man’s Guide to Osteoporosis for a complete guide to help you recognize your risk factors for osteoporosis and the steps you can start taking today to protect your bone health.

Facts and statistics

• Up to one in four men over age 50 will break a bone due to osteoporosis.
• Approximately two million American men already have osteoporosis. About 12 million
  more are at risk.
• Men older than 50 are more likely to break a bone due to osteoporosis than they are to
  get prostate cancer.
• Each year, about 80,000 men will break a hip.
• Men are more likely than women to die within a year after breaking a hip. This is due to
  problems related to the break.
• Men can break bones in the spine or break a hip, but this usually happens at a later
  age than women.

What puts men at risk?

Factors such as your family history, taking steroid medicines, not exercising, smoking, drinking too much alcohol or having low testosterone levels can put you at risk for getting osteoporosis. Evidence also suggests that low estrogen levels in men can lead to bone loss. So does having other medical problems such as chronic kidney, lung or gastrointestinal disease, prostate cancer and certain autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA). These are just some of the many reasons men can be at risk for osteoporosis and broken bones. 

Finding out if you have osteoporosis

If you have risk factors for osteoporosis, or aren’t sure, it’s important to speak with your healthcare provider. A bone density test can let you know if you have low bone density and if you should consider treatment with an osteoporosis medicine. If you break a bone from an injury that seems minor, you should be checked for osteoporosis right away. If you have osteoarthritis, you should be aware that this condition can interfere with your bone density test and prevent a proper diagnosis. If you learn that you have osteoporosis, ask whether you should have any other tests, such as lab tests to check your sex hormones or vitamin D levels.

What else can you do?

It’s important to get enough calcium, vitamin D and exercise to help protect your bones.  Running and playing tennis, racquetball and basketball are good for your bones. Weight-lifting is also good for your bones. It’s important to maintain proper form when lifting weights.

If you have osteoporosis, you’ll also need to modify or avoid certain movements to protect your spine you may need to avoid activities that involve excessive twisting motions, such as golf or tennis. A physical therapist can teach you how to exercise safely to protect your spine and help prevent bone loss. If you have osteoporosis, ask your healthcare provider if you would benefit from working with a physical therapist.

Download the Man's Guide to Osteoporosis

Learn more about your risk factors for osteoporosis and the steps you can start taking today to protect your bones. Download the complete guide now.

Additional Related Topics

Vitamin D and Bone Health - vitamin D recommendations. 

Calcium and Bone Health - calcium recommendations.

Factors that Put You At Risk - information about medicines and medical conditions that could lead to bone loss.

Having a BMD Test - information about bone density testing, and understanding what your results mean.

Medicines that May Cause Bone Loss - information about medicines that may cause bone loss.

Diseases and Conditions that May Cause Bone Loss - information medical conditions that may bone loss.