Osteoporosis: the Hidden Danger Osteoporosis, a condition that can weaken your bones, strikes without warning and causes severe injuries—an individual with osteoporosis could suffer a bone fracture from things as slight as bending over or coughing. Bones, being living tissue, need to be constantly replenished to retain their strength. Osteoporosis is triggered when our bodies cannot replenish bone mass at the rate that it is lost, making our bones brittle and weak. What causes Osteoporosis? When we are young our bodies bone mass replenishment rate is very fast resulting in growth, however once we enter our 20s this rate slows and the body seeks to maintain the bone mass acquired in our youth. As we age there are a number of factors to consider when evaluating the risk for osteoporosis; age, lifestyle, medical conditions, and current treatments. Age plays a factor in an individuals risk of osteoporosis, because, as our bodies age their ability to replace bone mass dimini...