Treating Osteoporosis After Hip Fracture( Orthopaedic osteoporosis manageme...),Health

Orthopaedic osteoporosis management is a crucial element in hip fracture recovery

ROSEMONT, Ill., Nov. 3 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Most patients who suffer a hip fracture are referred to their primary care physicians for osteoporosis follow-up care. However, according to a study published in the November 2008 issue of The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (http://www.ejbjs.org ), an osteoporosis management program initiated by an orthopaedic surgeon can result in much better care for hip fracture patients.

Osteoporosis (http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00232 )is a disease of progressive bone loss affecting 28 million Americans. The disease often develops unnoticed for many years, with no symptoms or discomfort until a fracture occurs because of the decreased bone density.

Osteoporosis is associated with fractures, and contributes to an estimated 1.5 million bone fractures each year. One in two women and one in five men older than 65, will sustain fractures caused by osteoporosis. Many of these are painful fractures of the hip, spine, wrist, arm, and leg, which often occur as a result of a fall.

The most serious and debilitating osteoporotic fractures are of the hip. Most patients who experience a hip fracture and previously lived independently will require some type of home care after the injury. All patients who experience a hip fracture will require walking aids for several months, and nearly half will permanently need canes or walkers.

Although osteoporosis is strongly associated with hip fractures, osteoporosis treatment following hip fractures occurs just 5 to 30 percent of the time.

"This low rate is the result of a few different factors," says Roberto Augusto Miki, M.D., assistant professor of clinical orthopaedics at University of Miami Jackson Memorial Hospital. "Most of the
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