National Osteoporosis Month

Last week we were raising awareness of osteoarthritis, a condition often confused with osteoporosis, this may be due to the fact that patients often suffer from both illnesses. While osteoarthritis is a degenerative condition affecting the joints, osteoporosis is a degenerative condition affecting bone density.

Osteoporosis is more likely to affect Caucasian, post-menopausal women, however diagnosis is not exclusive to this demographic.^[1] Unlike OA, osteoporosis is a painless condition.^[2] However, many people with osteoporosis are not diagnosed until they suffer a fracture.^[3] Due to the bones becoming more brittle as they lose their mass, fractures are a common problem for those who suffer from osteoporosis.

Hip fractures result in the loss of 1,150 lives every single month in the UK and the costs associated with the health and social care of patients with osteoporosis are costing the UK approximately £6 million every day.^[4]

Throughout the week we will be looking at the risk factors of osteoporosis and what the symptoms are. We will look at the real-life stories of those affected by osteoporosis before taking a look at the amazing stem cell research currently being undertaken by scientists around the world.