Posts Tagged ‘Fragility Fracture’
A “Bone Attack” is a Warning!
Americans suffer 2 million low trauma “fragility” fractures a year. “Bone Attack” is much more common than heart attack. “Bone Attack is a warning, in the same way that heart attack is a warning!
More than half of the older Americans suffering a hip fracture last year had been warned ahead of their hip fracture. That warning was in the form of a previous fracture. Less than 20% of those warned took any action to prevent their hip fracture. A smaller percent than died of their fracture.
More Women Than Breast Cancer, Heart Attack & Stroke Combined
Osteoporotic Fractures disable, disfigure, and kill more women each year than breast cancer, heart attack, and stroke combined. Half of all women over age 50 will suffer an Osteoporotic (Fragility) Fracture in their lifetime. Some will die. Some will be permanently deformed. Some will require nursing home care for the rest of their lives.
Millions strive for The Cure for breast cancer. Millions have joined Go Red For Women sponsored by the American Heart Association. These are wonderful efforts. But what about the millions of women harmed each year by Osteoporotic Fracture? They suffer a “Bone Attack”. When will we care enough about osteoporosis to launch a similar campaign?
Orthopods Are Dealing With Osteoporosis
This week I spent 2 days advising Orthopedic Surgeons about how to deal with Osteoporotic patients. Identifying the Osteoporotic (Fragility) Fracture is the easy part. Correcting the Osteoporosis is more challenging.
Orthopods are often too busy treating the recent fracture to do a complete work-up and initiate correction of the Osteoporosis. Unfortunately, many pimary care docs are also too busy treating (now out of control because of the fracture) diabetes, hypertension, heart failure, pulmonary problems, etc in the weeks after a fracture. Setting up a system is key to getting a complete bone health evaluation and treatment before everyone, patient included, forgets to try to prevent further fractures.