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Fracture Prevention Clinic

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, 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

Our goal at the Fracture Prevention Clinic is to provide a thorough and detailed analysis of your bone health. From there, we create an individualized plan to help you get strong and healthy bones, so that you can avoid another fracture.

 

 

Specialized Care to Avoid Future Fractures

The Fracture Prevention Clinic at Panorama is a part of Bone Health Services at Panorama. You may receive a referral from your doctor to visit the clinic if your doctor suspects 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 at standing height or less.  Our bones should be strong enough to withstand the impact from a fall from standing height or less and 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 areas 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. You can expect the following services as a part of your evaluation:

  • Evaluation for causes of previous fractures (except facial bones, toes and fingers)
  • Determine your risk for future fractures
  • Develop individualized treatment plans to optimize and maintain bone health and prevent osteoporosis and osteopenia
  • Diagnostic testing (DXA and TBS)
  • Medication counseling and management
  • Nutrition and exercise counseling

Preparing for your appointment

  • Please bring any lab reports from the past two years
  • If you have had a bone density test previously, please bring a copy of the report, as well, as the images if available.
  • Bring a list of all prescription medications – both the name and the prescribed dosage
  • Take pictures of the front and back of all supplements that you routinely take.
  • Please bring any other recent imaging reports and images, such as MRI, CT,  or X-ray

Team

Sara Brown - Physician Assistant

Michelle Lalinde, Nurse Practitioner