• 1 in 3 women and at least 1 in 12 men will develop osteoporosis during their lifetime
• Every 3 minutes someone has a fracture as a result of osteoporosis
• An estimated 3 million people in the UK suffer from osteoporosis
• World-wide there was an estimated 1.66 million hip fractures in 1990 and it is estimated that this will rise to 6.26 million in 2050
  Each year the numbers of people with osteoporosis seen by doctors include over: 70,000 hip fractures, 50,000 wrist fractures and 40,000 spinal fractures
• Once a postmenopausal woman has had one spinal fracture, she is 5 times more likely to suffer another
• Only a third of people with spinal fractures caused by osteoporosis come to medical attention
• Hip fractures account for more than 20% of orthopedic bed occupancy in the UK10 Osteoporosis costs the NHS and government over £1.5 billion each year

© National Osteoporosis Society

Osteoporosis affects all the bones - not just the ones of the back - but the first symptoms of osteoporosis often involve the back simply because the vertebrae are under such an enormous amount of pressure.

No one really knows exactly why osteoporosis develops (although it is known that people who exercise regularly are far less likely to suffer from it, and it is also known that in women there is a link to sex hormones since women who have gone through the menopause are far more likely to suffer from it), but calcium and other minerals which are essential for healthy bones leak out, leaving the bones weak and more than usually liable to fracture.

Most people with osteoporosis have smaller vertebrae (with the result that they shrink and become shorter), and it is fairly common for several vertebrae to fracture with the result that the spine eventually becomes noticeably rounded.

Osteoporosis is normally associated with increasing age, but it can be caused by spending long periods in bed - and is, therefore, common among patients suffering from other disorders. It is because of the danger of osteoporosis developing that most doctors like their patients to get up and out of bed as early as possible.

The loss of bone material that occurs in osteoporosis is not painful in itself but the fractures of the bones that result from osteoporosis often are - particularly if nerves are trapped.