Osteoporosis
Reduced bone strength that increases fracture risk — often silent until a fracture occurs after a minor fall, and very treatable once identified.
Is this what you are experiencing?
Osteoporosis and osteoarthritis are frequently confused. Osteoporosis is silent bone thinning that shows up as a fracture after a minor fall. Osteoarthritis is cartilage wear that causes pain worse with activity. Both are treatable, both are under-treated, and neither is simply an inevitable part of ageing.
Reviewed by Dr. Ashish Baweja, DM Clinical Immunology & Rheumatology, AIIMS Rishikesh · last updated October 2026
What symptoms should prompt an assessment?
You do not need to have every symptom below — and having one does not mean you have a particular disease. These are the patterns that commonly lead to a rheumatology consultation:
- Low bone density or an abnormal bone-density scan.
- A fracture after a minor fall or injury, loss of height or new back pain after minimal strain.
- Bone-health concerns related to age, menopause, long-term steroid use or other risk factors.
- Knee, hip, hand, neck or back pain that becomes worse with activity or prolonged use.
- Joint crepitus, reduced range of movement or brief stiffness after rest.
- Difficulty walking, using stairs, gripping or completing daily activities because of joint pain.
- Pain and functional limitation related to degenerative joint changes.
Which conditions does this cover?
Osteoarthritis
The most common degenerative joint disease, in which cartilage wears down over time, causing pain that worsens with activity in the knees, hips, hands or spine.
How is it diagnosed and treated?
Dr. Ashish Baweja combines a detailed clinical assessment with targeted investigations — blood tests and inflammatory markers, imaging, and where relevant procedures such as joint aspiration, nail fold capillaroscopy or biopsy — to reach an accurate diagnosis. Treatment plans follow current international (EULAR/ACR) guidelines and are personalised to your condition, lifestyle and goals, with an emphasis on achieving long-term remission and protecting quality of life.
Common questions
What is the difference between osteoporosis and osteoarthritis?
Osteoporosis is thinning of the bone itself; it causes no pain until a bone breaks, often after a minor fall. Osteoarthritis is wear of the cartilage that lines the joints; it causes pain and stiffness that are worse with use. The two can occur together, but they are tested for and treated differently.
Who should have a bone density (DEXA) scan?
It is worth discussing after a fracture from a fall from standing height or less, for women after the menopause who have other risk factors, for anyone on long-term steroid treatment, and for people with conditions or medicines known to thin bone.
Does exercise help osteoarthritis or wear the joint out faster?
It helps. Strengthening the muscles around the knee or hip, with low-impact activity such as walking, cycling or swimming, reduces pain and improves movement, and is the most effective single treatment for osteoarthritis.
This page is general information to help guide a consultation. It is not a diagnosis.
Further reading
Articles on Bone Health & Osteoarthritis
Vitamin D deficiency and joint pain: what it explains
A low vitamin D result rarely explains sore joints. The pain a real deficiency causes has a distinct pattern, and mistaking one for the oth…
Read articleKnee osteoarthritis treatment: what helps, in what order
Exercise and weight come first, medicines and injections build on them, surgery comes last. The sequence that works in knee osteoarthritis…
Read articleRheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis: how to tell them apart
How to tell rheumatoid arthritis from osteoarthritis: which joints, how long the morning stiffness lasts, and what tests can and cannot dec…
Read articleBook your consultation
Consult Dr. Ashish Baweja at Artemis Hospitals, Sector 51, Gurugram, Haryana 122018.