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What
is a fragility fracture?
A fragility fracture is one
that results from mechanical forces that would
not ordinarily cause fracture in a healthy young
adult. This is sometimes quantified as forces
equivalent to a fall from a standing height or
less.
Fragility fractures are strong
predictors of future fracture since they reflect
poor bone quality. Women who have had vertebral
or non-spine fractures have an increased risk of
future vertebral fractures independent of bone
mineral density (BMD) (1, 2). Thus, women and
men with vertebral fractures not resulting from
major trauma should be considered to have
osteoporosis or osteomalacia regardless of their
BMD.
The
following three statements are associated with
fractures or breaks related to low bone mass or
osteoporosis.
-
The most common sites for
fragility fractures (broken bone) are in
your wrist, shoulder, back or hip.
-
This type of break
results from minimal trauma or stress
like when you had a fall from standing
height or less that caused you to break
a bone (even if you seemed to fall down
hard)
-
You are most likely to
have thinning bones that result in this
type of break if you are over 50 years
old.
The
Facts About Fragility Fractures (Broken Bones)
and Osteoporosis:
-
More than 50% of the
broken bones in men over 50 and women
over 40 years of age are the result of
thinning bones related to osteoporosis
(Latin for porous bones). It can be
distressing to learn that your bones are
not as strong as they could or should
be, however this could be your chance to
stop bone loss. What you learn and do
about bone health now is the key to
building up your bones to prevent future
fractures or broken bones. The disease
is often called the silent thief because
there are no symptoms of bone loss until
the first break (fracture) happens.
Fragility Fracture
-
A fracture resulting from
a fall from standing height or less -
WHO* 1999
-
Patients who sustain a
first fracture have a five-fold chance
for future fractures despite the cause
-
Identification of
fragility fractures of the wrist, spine,
proximal humerus and hip is the first
step to treatment
-
After you have had one
fracture you are up to five times more
likely to have another broken bone than
someone who has never had a broken bone
or fracture. This is new information
learned in osteoporosis research.
-
Even if your bone density
measurement is normal you need to be
concerned about bone health if you have
broken a bone with minimal trauma like
after a fall from standing height or
lifting a bag of groceries because bones
can be brittle and need treatment even
when bone density is near normal
-
The interval between the
first break (like your wrist) and a hip
fracture can be up to 25 years
-
Hip fractures are the
most personally devastating break and
more than 1 in 5 people who have a hip
fracture will die in the first year
after the hip fracture. For those who
survive a hip fracture, more than 1 in 4
(25%) require some long-term nursing
care and lose some mobility and
independence.
-
A survey of women over 75
showed that 80% would rather be dead
than experience the loss of independence
and quality of life that results from a
hip fracture that leads to admission to
long term care
-
Hip fractures are the
most common injury from falls in the
elderly
-
The first fall can create
a cycle that leads to other falls unless
the cycle is broken. What that means is
that a first fall may increase the fear
of falling again which leads to
decreased activity and a loss of
strength and mobility which in turn
increases the risk of falling.
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