Osteoporosis is responsible for an estimated two million broken bones per year, yet nearly 80 percent of older Americans who suffer bone breaks are not tested or treated for osteoporosis.
One in two women and up to one in four men over age 50 will break a bone due to osteoporosis.
People with osteoporosis cannot feel their bones getting weaker, and many people do not know they have osteoporosis until they break a bone. People with osteoporosis most often break a bone in the hip, spine or wrist. Bones break more easily in people with osteoporosis, sometimes from simple actions such as sneezing, hugging or bumping into furniture. A broken bone in the spine can cause sharp back pain or no pain at all. Broken bones in the spine are called Vertebral Compression Fractures. They often go undiagnosed and can lead to further fractures.