Fractures & Osteoporosis
It is natural for bones and muscles to change over time and adjust to the aging process. We are here to monitor your bone health and advise about lifestyles changes or treatment to minimize the risk of osteoporosis and bone fractures. We want to help you prevent a fracture, or if after a fracture occurs, we can treat it and assist in your recovery.
What is a Bone Fracture?
Fractures are broken bones and they can happen in several different ways:
- Stress fractures are tiny cracks that develop in a bone over time.
- Closed fractures are broken bones that do not show through the skin.
- Open or compound fractures are broken bones that come through skin.
- Comminuted fractures are bones broken into several smaller pieces that require repair.
- Fragility fractures are bones that break in a fall from standing height or lower.
- Fractures of the arms, legs, and pelvis during sports or a traumatic injury
- Fractures which happen from normal stresses on abnormal bone
- Complications related to previous fractures, including:
- Bones that didn't heal properly
- Bones that healed with a deformity
- Leg length is uneven
- Bone that fractures again because of weakened bones or osteoporosis
- Fractures that have had previous surgery but now have pain from hardware
- Fractures in limbs that have had joint replacements
- Previous fracture to a bone that has developed damage to the joint
- Infection of bone and/or implanted hardware
- Osteoporosis and fragility fractures
- Problems with prior amputations of the extremities including painful or short residual limbs
- Cancer-related skeletal disorders
What is Osteoporosis?
Osteoporosis is a condition that causes bones to weaken and break easily – meaning you have less bone mass and less bone strength. Osteoporosis can develop without any symptoms or pain and is often not discovered until a person breaks a bone. Osteoporotic fractures are broken bones that occur in people after age 50, and usually occur after a fall from a standing height or a low-trauma injury.
Bone that develops osteoporosis looks like a honeycomb. As the stages of osteoporosis advance, the bone becomes more hollow and weaker, and puts you at risk for a bone fracture.
Signs and Risk Factors of Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is called a silent disease because no symptoms are felt. This is why knowing the risk factors is important.
Women are more likely to lose bone mass than men, and the loss increases after menopause. However, other risk factors like family history and sedentary lifestyle habits can put anyone at risk with increasing age.
The following are physical indicators of potential bone loss issues:
- Loss of height (getting shorter by an inch or more)
- Change in posture (stooping or bending forward)
- Shortness of breath (smaller lung capacity due to compressed disks)
- Bone fractures
- Pain in the lower back
Bone densitometry imaging or dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (also known as DXA or DEXA scans) are used to determine how solid your bones are, giving providers a more accurate picture of bone health. When you have a scan, you lie on a flat, open X-ray table. You lie motionless for the radiographer to administer low-dose X-rays to generate a bone scan. Many people after age 50 get a scan every few years to monitor the health of their bones.
A bone health specialist may suggest improving your bone health through nutrition, adding supplements, suggesting therapy and, if needed, prescribing medication. These measures can help prevent continued loss of bone mass.
The Bone Health Clinic, located inside the SSM Health Orthopedics Center at SSM Health DePaul Hospital - St. Louis, provides specialized services to help patients manage bone health after a fracture, provide guidance to prevent future fracture and assist with the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and management of osteoporosis.
Signs and Risk Factors of Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is called a silent disease because no symptoms are felt. This is why knowing the risk factors is important.
Women are more likely to lose bone mass than men, and the loss increases after menopause. However, other risk factors like family history and sedentary lifestyle habits can put anyone at risk with increasing age.
The following are physical indicators of potential bone loss issues:
- Loss of height (getting shorter by an inch or more)
- Change in posture (stooping or bending forward)
- Shortness of breath (smaller lung capacity due to compressed disks)
- Bone fractures
- Pain in the lower back
Bone densitometry imaging or dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (also known as DXA or DEXA scans) are used to determine how solid your bones are, giving providers a more accurate picture of bone health. When you have a scan, you lie on a flat, open X-ray table. You lie motionless for the radiographer to administer low-dose X-rays to generate a bone scan. Many people after age 50 get a scan every few years to monitor the health of their bones.
A bone health specialist may suggest improving your bone health through nutrition, adding supplements, suggesting therapy and, if needed, prescribing medication. These measures can help prevent continued loss of bone mass.
Maintaining Bone Health
As you age, it is natural for muscles and bones to grow weaker over time. But you can make lifestyle changes to prevent osteoporosis. Building weight-bearing movement, even walking, into your daily routine will help maintain your bone mass.
- Build muscle with exercise. Weight-bearing exercises that add in cardio, such as walking, climbing stairs, tennis, dancing, and hiking help maintain strength and balance. Seniors should also incorporate targeted muscle-building exercises into their routines. Think about lifting 2- to 3-pound weights, doing push-ups from your knees, or exploring low-impact yoga. Building muscle helps support strong bones.
- Eat and drink foods that support bone health. Eat a diet rich in calcium, vitamin D, and other vitamins and minerals. Eat broccoli, leafy green vegetables (such as kale, collard greens, and spinach), fish, almonds, milk, cottage cheese, and plain or Greek yogurt are all good sources of calcium and vitamin D. It is common for people to be deficient in vitamin D even with dietary changes, and they might benefit from a daily supplement. Eliminate unhealthy habits. Smoking, drinking access amounts of alcohol, and eating a diet of highly processed, high-sugar foods speed the process of osteoporosis.
Reversing Osteoprosis
Treatment with medication and bone strengthening therapies can “rebuild” bone mass or slow the bone loss from osteoporosis. You can make numerous lifestyle and nutritional changes to maintain bone health and prevent further long-term damage. Make an appointment with a bone health specialist or your primary care doctor today to discuss the options suggested for your level of bone loss.
SSM Health Dean Medical Group and SSM Health Fond du Lac Regional Clinic - Orthopedics
