It's What's Inside That Counts

Osteoporosis is inevitable bone thinning and there’s little we can do about it, right? Wrong. Doctors want us to know that knowledge is power, you can make a difference and there are treatments that work.

Osteoporosis is often described as an invisible disease. We can’t see our bones. We can’t feel how strong they are. They’re out of sight, out of mind. Until they break.

“Many people think osteoporosis is something that happens ‘when we’re older’ but the peak incidence of fragility (or unexpected) fractures is under the age of 75,” says Professor John Eisman from the Garvan Institute. “This is a relatively common problem in our population. And after age 75 you have a one in two chance of having a fragility fracture.”

There’s a cluster effect, too. Your first fracture may mend well. However, for the next five years, your risk of another fragility fracture grows two or three-fold. The problem, say, experts, is that we’re not doing enough to treat the underlying cause of fragility fractures – our thinning bones. Treating osteoporosis is crucial because although broken bones heal, our risk of death still rises.