Overview
Bones help in movement, supporting the whole body weight and it is a living tissue that constantly rebuilding throughout life. Therefore, any diseases of the bone would definitely affect the quality of life of the person. There are several types of bone diseases such as osteoarthritis, crystal-induced arthritis, bone infection, rheumatoid arthritis, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, spondyloarthropathies, bone tumors, osteoporosis, osteomalacia, rickets, Paget's disease of the bone and many more. Osteoporosis or low bone density, Paget's disease of bone can make the bone weak. Osteogenesis imperfecta makes the bone brittle. There are many risk factors for bone diseases such as genetic factors, smoking, consumption of alcohol, vitamin D deficiency and so on. Some of the certain investigations that can be done are the level of alkaline phosphatase, bone biopsy bone density scan, bone markers, bone scan, bone x-ray, serum calcium level. The management of bone diseases totally varies according to the type of bone disease. However, the main principles are to relieve the symptoms, treat the underlying cause and look out for the complications.
