We can’t predict the future, but a new equation is giving scientists the ability to check how likely we are to suffer a fracture if we have brittle bones. We can influence our bone wellness in several ways – such as with exercise and good nutrition – and this new formula can further protect us from breakages.
Fracture risk
Broken bones can heal, and after pain has subsided we can mistakenly believe our bones will just knit back together and our wellbeing will be as good as new. This can happen, but when we’ve been diagnosed with osteoporosis, breakages can prove much more serious and life changing. Sometimes, a fracture may be the first time we’re aware we have the condition, meaning we have to work harder to preserve bone mineral density as it is already seriously depleted. Now, a new formula created at Australia’s Department of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences could reveal our future fracture risk, giving us the opportunity to make important changes where needed.
Working it out
The researchers highlighted the fact that bone mineral density (BMD) can differ in certain parts of our body, which makes it difficult to predict what bones will become more fragile overtime and perhaps be more likely to break. Authors of the study compared women who had a fracture with those who did not. As well as looking at their BMD they looked at a series of other criteria, like weight and the likelihood of falls to form the equation. After this, they took the same measurements in a group of randomly selected women and found the equation correctly predicted fractures 75 per cent of the time. This has been welcomed by experts in the field, as it gives doctors an insight into how likely we are to break bones. Our treatment can then be adapted via medication, nutrition, exercise and changes to our environment to cut fracture risk so we can live healthily despite osteoporosis.
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