Calcium is a very important and necessary mineral to sustain life. This mineral plays a vital role in many parts of the body, including the skeletal system, the muscular system, and the brain. In the skeletal system, calcium keeps bones strong and stiff, in the muscular system it helps muscles contract, and in the brain, calcium helps nerves send messages (“Calcium and Vitamin D”). Due to the body's dependence on calcium, if there were to be a calcium deficiency, many dangerous illnesses and diseases could develop. However, with the right amount of exercise and a balanced, calcium-rich diet, these diseases can be avoided. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Since our body cannot produce calcium, we must eat food that contains it and then store it in our body to use when needed (“Calcium and Vitamin D”). In order for our body to access stored calcium, it must go through a feedback loop. When blood calcium levels are low, the parathyroid glands, which are located at the back of the thyroid, are stimulated. When stimulated, the glands secrete a hormone called parathyroid hormone, or PTH. This hormone affects three organs that help increase calcium levels in the blood. First, parathyroid hormone stimulates osteoclasts in the bones. Osteoclasts begin to break down the bone, releasing calcium from the bone into the blood. Next, because the kidney usually releases calcium, the hormone causes the kidney to increase calcium absorption to store it for later use. The hormone also stimulates the kidneys to secrete an active form of vitamin D. This activated vitamin causes the intestine to absorb as much calcium as possible. Once the blood calcium level returns to normal, homeostasis will have ended. All these steps complete their modified function and return to working as normal (Patton 201). If for some reason your blood calcium levels drop, either because you aren't getting enough calcium or your feedback loop isn't working, very serious health problems could result. There are no short-term symptoms, but if not corrected, low blood calcium levels can create long-term consequences and disease. One of these diseases is osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is a very common bone disease that affects approximately 40 million Americans (“What is osteoporosis?”). It is a disease that makes bones very fragile and therefore more prone to fractures or breakages. Osteoporosis occurs when bone is destroyed by osteoclasts, but the osteoblasts do not form enough new bone to make up for the lost bone. This causes the bone to become very fragile and delicate, becoming more prone to breakage. There are many circumstances that can cause this to happen, the most common being genetics. Therefore, if someone has relatives with osteoporosis, they will inherit the risk of contracting this disease. Osteoporosis also occurs if a person doesn't get enough calcium and vitamin D in the diet, which makes it harder for bones to form, as shown in the feedback loop. Various other conditions that increase the risk of osteoporosis are smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, and low body weight. Unfortunately, no symptoms are present during the early stages of osteoporosis, so it is difficult to detect until the disease becomes more severe. Unless there is an obvious fracture that needs treatment, osteoporosis is rarely detected until its later stages. However, if undetected, symptoms include compression fractures. The fractures fromcompression are broken vertebrae that can occur without injury. These fractures cause sharp, sometimes disabling pain in the middle or lower part of the spine. Other problems that result from compression fractures due to osteoporosis are loss of height and a stooped posture or kyphosis (also known as dowager's hump). Loss of height occurs over time and up to six inches can be lost (“Osteoporosis”). To diagnose osteoporosis, a doctor may have the person undergo a bone mineral density test. This test evaluates the amount of calcium present in a person's bones. Therefore, it can detect whether someone has osteoporosis or is at risk of suffering from it. The most common way to perform a bone mineral density test is to use a DEXA (dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry) scan. A DEXA scan very similar to a chest x-ray, but with a lower x-ray dose. There are two types of DEXA scans: central DEXA and peripheral DEXA. The main difference between the two scans is the areas to be scanned. Central DEXA scans bone density in the lower spine and hip, while peripheral DEXA scans the wrists, fingers, legs or heels. While DEXA scans are the most accurate method of determining whether someone has osteoporosis, a simple x-ray of the spine or hip. These x-rays are good at showing fractures of the bones of the spine, but they are not as accurate in diagnosing osteoporosis. Another way to determine whether or not someone has osteoporosis is through a blood or urine test. These tests are best at identifying the disease if your doctor believes it is not caused by bone loss due to advanced age, but by a medical condition. Treatment for osteoporosis can be as simple as exercising, changing your diet, taking vitamin D (helps the body absorb calcium) and calcium supplements, quitting smoking, and reducing the amount of alcohol you drink. Exercise is important because it helps keep bones strong. , which decreases a person's chance of getting osteoporosis and fractures. Some effective exercises are walking, jogging, dancing, tai chi, yoga and other similar activities. Other exercises, such as using weight machines and rowing machines, also help reduce the risk of fractures. However, since osteoporosis makes bones fragile, it is not advisable to practice exercises that could cause falls or strong impacts. If the disease is more serious and lifestyle changes do not help, medications can also be taken to aid recovery. Some medicines include bisphosphonates (treat and prevent bone loss), parathyroid hormone (stimulates the feedback loop), calcitonin (slows the rate of bone loss), raloxifene (treats and prevents osteoporosis), denosumab (slows the weakening of bone ) and estrogen and hormone replacement therapy (prevents osteoporosis). Following all of these guidelines allows the body to begin absorbing calcium and rebuilding bones as quickly as it loses it, thus making bones strong and no longer susceptible to fractures and other painful injuries (osteoporosis). A case study that requested post about fifteen years ago focused on postpartum osteoporosis. This specific case study focused more specifically on a stress fracture of the proximal tibia and how it relates to postpartum osteoporosis. About six months after giving birth, a 33-year-old woman began experiencing sharp pain in her knee. After performing an MRI and some other tests, it was determined that he had an insufficiency fracture of the proximal plateau of the tibia. The woman had no previous injuries or