General Nursing©

OSTEOPOROSIS

In a patient with osteoporosis, nurses usually check the skin daily to redness, warmth, and new site of pain, indicating new fractures. He is encouraged with activities, and helped to walk several times daily.

As appropriate, passive range-of-motion exercises are performed and active exercises are encouraged. It is made sure that he attends scheduled physical therapy sessions. Safety precautions should be imposed. Side rails are kept up. He is moved gently and carefully at all times.

It is necessary to explain to his family and ancillary hospital personnel how easily osteoporotic bones can fracture. He should be provided with a balance diet, high in nutrients that support skeletal metabolism: vitamin D, calcium, and protein. Analgesics and heat are administered to relieve pain.

As we age, we gradually lose calcium from our bones. The bones become less strong, more brittle, and thus more prone to fracture. This process is called osteoporosis. It occurs particularly rapidly in women after the menopause because estrogen seems to be important in maintaining bone strength. About 650,000 fractures occur each year in the United States as a result of osteoporosis.

The development of osteoporosis is complex, including nutritional, physical, hormonal, and genetic factors.

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