Osteomalacia: Symptoms, Diagnosis, and Treatments

Adult bone weakening condition often due to vitamin D or phosphate deficiency, leading to soft bones and skeletal pain.

Osteomalacia FAQ

What is the difference between rickets and osteomalacia?

Osteomalacia is the name of a condition where bones become soft and weak. This means they can bend and break more easily than normal. Rickets is the name of a similar condition that affects children. Why do bones become soft? To understand osteomalacia, it’s worth looking at what happens inside bones. Bone is a living tissue.

What does osteomalacia mean?

Osteomalacia means "soft bones." Osteomalacia is a disease that weakens bones and can cause them to break more easily. It is a disorder of decreased mineralization, which results in bone breaking down faster than it can re-form. It is a condition that occurs in adults. In children, inadequate concentrations of vitamin D may cause rickets.

What is the difference between osteoporosis and osteomalacia?

Osteomalacia refers to decreased mineralization of the bone. In contrast, in osteoporosis, more bone is broken down than normal compared to the normal amount of new bone being formed, and mineralization is normal or just a little reduced. Osteomalacia leads to softened bones. Osteoporosis leads to bones that are too fragile and brittle.

How do you know if you have osteomalacia?

Your healthcare provider will do a blood test to diagnose the condition. If it shows any of the following, you may have osteomalacia or another bone disorder: Your healthcare provider may also test you for alkaline phosphatase isoenzymes. High levels indicate osteomalacia. Another blood test can check your levels of parathyroid hormone.

Why does osteomalacia develop?

Osteomalacia, or "soft bones, " develops because of a lack of vitamin D. Maintaining your levels of vitamin D and calcium is essential for bone health. What is osteomalacia? Osteomalacia means "soft bones." Osteomalacia is a disease that weakens bones and can cause them to break more easily.

What is osteomalacia & how is it treated?

Osteomalacia is a disease characterized by the softening of the bones caused by impaired bone metabolism primarily due to inadequate levels of available phosphate, calcium, and vitamin D, or because of resorption of calcium. The impairment of bone metabolism causes inadequate bone mineralization.

What are the most important facts about osteomalacia?

What are the most important facts to know about osteomalacia? Osteomalacia and rickets are bone diseases that cause a softening or weakening of the bones. Osteomalacia is mainly present in adults, while rickets refers to the impaired mineralization at growth plates and softening or weakening of the bones in children.

Is osteomalacia a metabolic disease?

StatPearls [Internet]. Lance Zimmerman; Brett McKeon. Last Update: November 12, 2023. Osteomalacia, often referred to as "soft bone disease," is a metabolic bone disorder characterized by the inadequate mineralization of bone tissue. This condition results from a deficiency in vitamin D, calcium, or phosphate, weakening and softening bones.