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Alternative Medicine for Osteoporosis
What is osteoporosis?
The two halves of bone growth:
Bone loss can be categorized by the separation of bones into two distinctive groups. Minerals that make bones strong and sturdy are one element, but another key aspect of bone growth are bone cells.
Bone cells are made up of osteoclasts, which “break” bone cells in order for them to grow anew and osteoblasts, which grow new bone cells. Both halves of bone growth are key to the body’s bone structure remaining fit and healthy.
Osteoporosis is a degenerative bone disorder that is felt considerably more acutely in women than it is in men. It is the process whereby which a woman’s bones begin to gradually deteriorate and thin. Yearly bone loss is sometimes fractional per year but even the tiniest amount can add up and lead to fractures and breaks. Such injuries for older women can be severely dangerous and can irrevocably change the quality of life and general mobility. Often time’s osteoporosis isn’t identified until a break occurs. Such an occurrence is commonplace because women suffering from osteoporosis during menopause often do not know until a fracture occurs.
What alternative medicine for osteoporosis exists today?
 Hormone replacement therapy is seen as the primary method of treating menopause symptoms.
Alternative medicine for osteoporosis is also available however and these are primarily:
1. Acupuncture
2. Herbal remedies
Alternative medicine for osteoporosis has seen a steady rise as women seek more and more alternatives to hormone replacement therapy.
Acupuncture
This alternative medicine for osteoporosis is known as one of the best alternatives treatment methods. It utilizes very fine needles in specific points of the body in order to activate “energy pathways” in the human body. Despite its success and popularity as an alternative medicine for osteoporosis, acupuncture is viewed as complex and only as effective as the practitioner who utilizes the treatment.
Herbal remedies
Herbal options usually involve herbs which have properties that are suitable for helping treat an imbalance of hormones. Such alternative medicines for osteoporosis are usually divided into either phytoestrogenic or non-estrogenic herbs.
Phytoestrogenic herbs: Plants which contain phytoestrogens are known as phytoestrogenic herbs. Some of these include herbs such as: red clover and soy. Phytoestrogens have a chemical makeup similar to that of human estrogen and such a unique property means that they are good at treating women who are suffering from the effects of a hormone imbalance. In addition there are a host of side effects; phytoestrogenic herbs are not considered the best alternative medicine for osteoporosis. Another reason for this is because as the body becomes used to having artificial hormones introduced into the body it becomes less receptive to creating its own natural hormones.
 Non-estrogenic herbs: Non-estrogenic herbs are also becoming an increasingly used alternative medicine for osteoporosis. Because non-estrogenic herbs do not contain estrogen they function by stimulating the hormone receptors in women’s bodies to reproduce the sufficient levels of estrogen.
Most doctors would recommend a combination of both lifestyle changes and alternative medicine for osteoporosis in order to treat this often overlooked but dangerous menopause symptom.
Treatments such as hormone replacement therapy do have the ability to curb osteoporosis and menopause, but carry with them a certain degree of risk. For this reason it is important that all treatment options are considered carefully as often alternative medicine for osteoporosis can be a viable option for women.
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