Panorama Opens Fracture Prevention Clinic in Golden
Did you know that If you suffer a fracture due to compromised bone quality (commonly known as osteoporosis), your risk of breaking another bone in the next 5 years is 55%?
If you are over the age of 50 you are at risk for osteoporosis. In fact, one in every two women and one out of every 4 men will break a bone due to osteoporosis. Osteoporosis fractures can be serious. They can actually even be deadly. For older adults who suffer a hip fracture, 25% them die within the year following the fracture. Another 25% go to a nursing home and of the remaining 50% – only 15% of them will return to walking unassisted within six months. So, it’s important to treat osteoporosis so that you can have healthy bones and avoid these life-changing injuries.
Unfortunately, today, eighty-four percent of our population is not tested or treated for osteoporosis following a fracture, yet we know that half of repeat bone breaks could be avoided with proper diagnosis and treatment. In the last 50 years, great progress has been made in the way we evaluate bone health and how we treat osteoporosis and metabolic bone disorders.
Today we know what affects your bone health. Your medical history (since the day you were born), medications that you take, where you live and what kind of work you do, and how active you are and what genetic makeup you have, all of these will affect your bone health. Many medical conditions and the medications that are used to treat them can contribute to weak bone and predispose you to a fracture. Some of these conditions include:
- Diabetes
- Lupus and RheumatoidArthritis
- Hyperthyroidism
- Celiac Disease
- Asthma
- Multiple Sclerosis
- Gastrointestinal conditions that are related to malabsorption
You may be a candidate to visit the fracture prevention clinic if you suspect that your fracture may be due to fragile or weak bones. Fragility fractures, as they are commonly called, are those fractures that occur from a fall or at standing height or less. Our bones should be strong enough to withstand the impact from a fall from standing height or less . Individuals would not usually sustain a fracture, unless there is underlying weakness in the bones caused from Osteoporosis. Fragility fractures are a common problem. In fact, there are more than 3 million fragility fractures in the United States each year. The most common area for a fragility fracture to occur is the hip, the spine or the wrist.
With simple blood tests and imaging, we are able to determine if there is an underlying bone health issue that led to your fracture. We evaluate your unique bone quality, and develop a personalized plan (consisting of both lifestyle modifications and medication recommendations) to improve your bone strength and reduce the risk of future fractures.
For more information on the Colorado Center for Bone Research and Fracture Prevention Clinic visit: https://www.panoramaortho.com/colorado-center-for-bone-research/
