Cancer
- Bone cancer makes the bone weak. Patients with bone cancer usually face fatigue and sore bones due to the disease. There are also cases of frequent bone fractures when one has bone cancer. Any bone of the human body can have cancer, but it usually affects the bones of the arms and legs. Bone cancer can be primary, which means it originated in the bone, or it can be secondary, which means it has metastasized to the bone from another place in the body that it originated from. It is diagnosed by a doctors physical exam and blood test, however, the conclusive diagnosis comes from pathology, where tissue samples are taken from the bone, prepared on a slide, and viewed under a microscope for abnormal cancer cells. Treatment for this disease is Chemotherapy, surgery, radiation.
Arthritis
- This condition affects the joints of the skeletal system. Arthritis is described as the inflammatory of the joints and it is associated with pain, swelling, and stiffness. There is limited mobility when arthritis attacks and it is hard to perform even the simplest tasks such as walking, climbing the stairs, and sitting down. It is usually diagnosed by a blood test, but physical signs of the joint deformity can also help in the diagnosis. Treatment can range from mild anti-inflammatory over the counter drugs to prescription pain medications and steroids. In some cases where the patient meets the criteria, a biologic agent can be used to promote disease remission and prevent progressive joint damage.
Osteoporosis
- This is the condition of weakening of bones. Due to a loss of calcium in the bones, they become weak and can break very easily. Simply coughing, sneezing or lightly hitting your arm on a bookshelf can result in the break of a bone. since the bone becomes weak, you will see people with osteoporosis hunched over and rather fragile looking. To diagnose this disease, your doctor will preform a physical exam and also do a test called a bone density test. Once it is confirmed, the treatment is a diet high in vitamin D and calcium, exercise, healthy lifestyle and sometimes, specialized medications such as fosamax.
Osteomalacia
- Calcium deficiency and vitamin D deficiency leads to Osteomalacia. This is the softening of the bones that make it weak and unstable that easily breaks the bone. Other contributing factors to the cause of osteomalacia can also be digestive or kidney disorder. This is because these disorders prevent the bones from properly absorbing the necessary vitamins and calcium, which then in turn, leads to osteomalacia. This is usually diagnosed by blood test to look for what your levels of vitamin D and Phosophorus are, x-rays, and sometimes bone biopsy. Once diagnosed, treatment is an increase in Vitamin D and addressing any underlying diseases related to the kidneys or the digestive system that have led to osteomalacia.
Spina Bifida
- This is a disease in the spine. The spine has a spinal cord that runs inside the vertebrae which is normally in a closed tube. Spina Bifida happens when there is an opening in the cord. The opening can be a gap, a hole, or anything that has space. This is usually the result of a birth defect, where developmentally, the spinal cord did not develop correctly. The diagnosis is different, depending on the type of spina bifida and the age of the patient. There are four kinds of spina bifia:
- occulta
- Closed neural tube defects
- meningocele
- Myelomeningocele
Depending on the type of spina bifida, the treament and diagnosis are each spefic to the type.
Leukemia
- This is also a form of a cancer but does not directly affect the bone but the blood instead. It is classified as skeletal system disease because it originates in the bone marrow. Leukemia is diagnosed from blood test and a bone marrow biopsy. Bone marrow is aspirated from the bone and tested for abnormal leukemia cells. The treatment options for leukemia include chemotherapy, radiation, stem cell therapy and targeted and biologic therapy.