Arthritis

• Probably one of the most common diseases of the bone is arthritis. However, arthritis isn't just a sole condition, but a grouping of diseases that can affect the health and strength of your bones and joints. For some people, arthritis comes in the form of osteoarthritis, a disease that causes an actual degeneration of your joints. Other people may develop a condition known as rheumatoid arthritis, an inflammatory condition that involves the lining of your joints. You may even suffer from septic or reactive arthritis, both of which develop out of an infection that causes damage to the affected joint. Regardless of the type of arthritis, you'll often experience pain, stiffness and limited mobility.
  
  

Osteoporosis

• Another common disease of the bone is a condition known as osteoporosis. With this disorder, your bones essentially become much more porous than before, reducing their density, which weakens their structure and increases the chances of a break or fracture. Since your bones are continuously going through a process of "remodeling," a breakdown and re-growth of bone tissue, any decrease in the amount of bone gained can cause your bones to become porous and develop the condition. Age is by far the most common factor, but a deficiency in minerals such as calcium or vitamin D may also cause you to suffer from the disease.
  
  

Rickets

• Not all diseases of the bone are always seen as we advance in age. Sometimes it is possible, especially when you suffer from diets lacking in vitamin D, for you to develop rickets, a disease that causes your bones to become much softer than normal. In this particular condition, the lack of vitamin D affects the way in which both calcium and phosphorous are absorbed in the body. This inevitably affects the overall structure of your bones, leading to this deformity of the skeletal system.
  
  

Bone Cancer

• Another bone disease that seems to affect the young more than those advanced in age is bone cancer. When dealing with primary bone cancer, which is cancer that has originated within the skeletal system, cancerous cells develop within the tissue of growing bones. And since our bones are always in a process of re-growth, anyone can be affected by this disease (though children are more apt to suffer from this condition). Surgical removal of the affected section of bone is often used to treat bone cancer, but you may also need chemotherapy, radiation therapy or even hormone therapy to better manage and control the disease.
  
  

Paget's Disease

• As we age, there's also the potential to suffer from a condition known as Paget's disease. This disorder affects the overall process of "remodeling" in our bones, limiting the level of re-growth of new bone. This leads to a reduced bone density that can cause the structure of your bones to become much weaker than normal.