| There is no single treatment or cure for osteoporosis, although drug therapies are available that slow bone deterioration and increase bone density. Increased bone density reduces risk of fracture and associated pain. Newer therapies substantially decrease the risk of certain fractures from osteoporosis. Prevention is critical in those individuals who are at high-risk.
Recovery from fractures in individuals with osteoporosis can be slow and fraught with complications, leading to a poor outcome. Osteoporosis leads to approximately 1.5 million fractures per year, 70% of which occur in women (Weppner). Among women who have had a fracture of the hip, about 50% will stay in nursing homes during the recovery period, and 14% of all individuals with hip fractures will still be in a nursing home 1 year or longer after the fracture occurred (Jacobs-Kosmin). Only 33% of all individuals who have sustained an osteoporotic fracture return to their pre-fracture level of activity and function (Jacobs-Kosmin). Twenty percent of women and 30% to 50% of men who have sustained a hip fracture secondary to osteoporosis die within 1 year of the fracture (Moyad). |
Source: Medical Disability Advisor