Unless it's from a high-speed car crash or a fall out a window, a young woman shouldn't break a bone. If you break a bone after tripping and falling, or get a fracture for no apparent reason, your doctor should refer you for a bone-density test. If he or she doesn't, find one who will.

Researchers at The Ohio State University recently found that women and men with unexplained foot fractures had low bone density. Mysterious fractures appear to be a bad omen for your health too. "A fracture increases your risk of subsequent fractures elsewhere in the body," says Dr. Beatrice Edwards, director of the osteoporosis program at Northwestern University Medical School in Chicago.

Preliminary studies with older women suggest that those with periodontal disease were also likely to have osteoporosis. If you are past menopause and your dentist diagnoses you with periodontal disease, ask your doctor if you should be tested for osteoporosis.

You've probably run across one of those noninvasive ultrasound machines, which look for signs of thinning bones in wrists, fingers and heels. But a "normal " result based on a peripheral site may not be a precise assent of your skeletal health. "Bone loss is not uniform throughout the body," Edwards explains. "People may lose more in one site than in another." The crucial points to measure are the hip and spine, where the most serious fractures occur. One highly recommended test is the specialized X ray known as DEXA (dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry). This measures bone density in the hip, spine or- less accurately- the forearm. Insist on a hip or spine reading.

Osteoporosis runs in families. "Genetics are very important in this disease, and it looks like it can be transmitted through both maternal and paternal sides," says Dr. Felicia Cosman, clinical director of the National Osteoporosis Foundation. What's more, recent research suggests that a hereditary link may be especially strong at specific sites, such as the spine, hip and wrist.

If your father, mother or grandmother lost more than two inches in height or developed a stoop, or either parent suffered any fracture as an adult, take preventive steps. Ask your physician if you would benefit from hormone replacement therapy (the estrogen in it could protect your bones), in addition to modifying your diet and exercise routines.

"Medications called bisphosphonates, such as Fosamax and Actonel, replace some bone that was lost and reduce the risk of fractures, but nothing can completely reverse what's gone,” says Cosman. Moreover, the bone-building benefits of these drugs plateau after the first few years, and when you stop the medication, you gradually begin to lose bone again.

Similarly, with hormone replacement therapy, which increases calcium absorption, decreases calcium loss and inhibits the destruction of bone, any bone protection quickly ebbs once you stop HRT.

Parathyroid hormone (PTH) is a new drug being reviewed by the FDA for its potential to make new bone cells. PTH is a natural hormone protein that regulates calcium and triggers new bone formation. In a study reported in the Massachusetts Medical Society's Health News, women with osteoporosis who took daily injections of PTH showed a marked increase in bone mineral density.

[Riverside Health Note:  Be careful of any hormone that is a DRUG.  It may have once been natural , but to be patented, it must be altered from it's natural state.  This creates serious problems in the body.  There is already available a truly natural hormone that stimulates bone growth--natural progesterone, NOT synthetic progestins!  See ^AIMRenewed Balance^TM and Balanced Woman Body Cream.]