World Osteoporosis Day
Osteoporosis is a disease which causes your bones to become porous, weak and fragile. The result: a higher risk of broken bones, known as fragility fractures. Osteoporosis is ‘invisible’ - there are no obvious signs or symptoms, until a bone breaks. In people with osteoporosis, this can happen after a minor fall from standing height, a bump, sudden movement, or from bending or lifting. Osteoporosis-related fractures are most likely to occur in the hip, spine, wrist or upper part of the arm, but other bones can break too. One broken bone leads to another, and that’s why it’s important to diagnose and treat the disease as soon as possible. Osteoporosis-related fractures affect one in three women and one in five men aged 50 years or older worldwide. A DISEASE WITH SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES Although osteoporosis itself is painless, the fragility fractures it causes can have serious, life-changing consequences. When osteoporosis affects the bones of the spine, it often leads to pain, height-lo