Hi everyone, I am new here
I have just found out this week that I have osteoporosis and a fracture of the hip. I have been told to use crutches by my consultant but am very confused about what I can and can't do. I have a fragility fracture on the femoral neck apparently.
Any help and advice greatly appreciated - my tendency is to overdo things so I am very conflicted 
I’ve got osteoporosis and a fragility fracture of my sacrum - not the same as what you have but the spinal physio I saw - privately - he booked my MRI scans when I knew there was a huge problem but was getting absolutely nowhere with my GP.
Whatever you do I would do it carefully. My physio emphasised that I needed to move carefully mustn’t rush and I needed to be particularly careful with fallen leaves and mud now that the winter weather is on its way. I’m like you and I think he figured out that I was a pretty lively person.
He also said to hold onto something solid when I was standing up from the table / chairs etc and I hold on to work surfaces in the kitchen. I also hold on to something when I get my water jug out of the fridge as it is quite heavy and I found holding something heavy very difficult to start with.
He also stressed the importance of good pain relief - at that point I wasn’t taking anything and was in a massive amount of pain - unfortunately I have a problem with that sort of thing and I’ve now ended up taking paracetamol which pretty much keeps the pain at bay. Volterol is my new body lotion for a while too. When things were really bad at the beginning I used to alternate between a hot water bottle and an ice pack or a chillow gel filled pillow that was nice and cold against my hip and rear end and I lay in a nice warm bath every night.
Anyway, after we saw the MRI scan results my physio said I really needed serious pain relief plus gentle walking and exercise - so I walk for about 45 minutes every day and use a pair of LEKI Nordic walking poles which keep me very stable I already had them because I did a course in Nordic Walking a few years ago. I only walk on flat surfaces because I found any sort of incline made my pelvis ache and I walk on proper paths rather than on grass, I found walking in grass hard work too. I tried crutches too but I found that I prefer my poles. The one advantage of crutches I noticed when my husband had a hip replacement and used them was that people mostly got out of your way when they saw you coming.
So I walk every day and do gentle exercise / stretches - every week since I was diagnosed Ive done three x 1 hour sessions of Pilates with a teacher who is also a physio and who specialises in people with osteoporosis, I had been doing that since lockdown and pretty much fell to pieces when she had a month off to look after elderly parents so I think Pilates was all that was holding me together.
I have been with her for over ten years and I sent her my scan results so she knows exactly what she is dealing with - so I do that and on the days I don’t my other physio said to exercise at home so I do a random selection of the sort of things we do in class.
If I were you though apart from gentle walking I wouldn’t do any sort of exercises involving your hip until you have had advice from a physiotherapist preferably with a strong interest in osteoporosis and who knows exactly what your problem is. One thing is definite and our teacher is always telling us in class - if something hurts or causes pain - don’t do it - regardless of who tells you to do it.
Another piece of very good advice I got from a different physiotherapist was on a scale of 1-10 you should only be working at about 3 and she was quite right. Overkill on exercises doesn’t help at all.
On the positive side this all kicked off for me in May and I feel an awful lot better now, I can go for longer distances and I walk faster, and don’t feel the same levels of pain. I’m not waking up during the night in pain either.
Sorry I’ve rather rambled on but hopefully some of this will be of help. ☀️
Hithank you so much for replying. It s really good to hear some advice actually!! Up until this point I was doing yoga and walking plus running the house etc etc so this is a really big shock. I have had other health problems on the way and this really felt like - oh no not something else - and I guess I wanted to fast forward to the exercise bit!
Really helpful advice about being slow and walking on a proper path and aiming no higher than a 3!! Because of other health issues I have a high pain threshold and mostly just carry on regardless so far as I am able.
I was very lucky to see a consultant here although we did pay privately - which I know is not ideal but when you are desperate, well...
he organised a steroid injection for ruptured disk, a bone scan and an MRI scan - hence here I am!!
I have been practising with my crutches around the house although mostly people are telling me to just sit - this is where I get confused!
Thanks for replying its so helpful
Like you I was doing all my normal activities and I’m the same with pain. I think I must have quite a high pain threshold too. I saw a rheumatologist the week before last and I took the scan reports for her to see - she looked at them and said ‘Oh’ then she said twice during the consultation that she couldn’t believe I wasn’t in terrible pain - or that I was managing with paracetamol. My lumbar scan showed all sorts of problems- the sacral insufficiency fracture and other stuff is actually a lot better than everything in the lumbar scan, but I think most of the pain is coming from the sacral fracture.
Basically my physio told to me keep going with the gentle exercises in a small range and to work on keeping the core muscle, particularly transverse abdominals as strong as possible. I would think the ‘gentle part in a small range’ might apply to you too. 😉
Just don’t go mad. I know from personal experience that it’s very easy to do too much. I remember getting plantar fasciitis a few years ago. I consulted Dr Google and did every single suggestion that I read on the web to try and fix it. When I told my Pilates teacher physio what all I was doing (you name it I was likely doing it) she looked at me and suggested I try resting it a bit too. The rest definitely helped. Same with my hand therapist who said 3/10 for effort.
As you are not sure what to do and especially as you have already paid privately for the consultant and scans etc I think I’d try to find a good physiotherapist for proper advice rather than risk messing things up now. You would probably only need a couple of sessions then you could go home and do what you are told to do.
I know when my husband had his hip replaced there were all sorts of things that he was told not to do unfortunately I can’t remember them all now but he had to be careful with the joint so I’d take care. Good luck.
Good advice thank you. I suspect I already know the answer as when my consultant found out I was off to see a physio he basically said no. Still looking for a way around it I think ...like you I have googled everything but basically I think I have to wait until I am seen again in the fracture clinic - just one week away.We dont do ourselves any favours with keeping going with pain!!
I am finding this a godsend though and thank you again
HelloHave you been tested for hyperparathyroidism? The parathyroid gland controls calcium released to your bones. Do make sure that is done before embarking on any treatment as, if your glands are not working properly then any medication prescribed is useless and can be contraindicated until one or more is surgically removed. A simple blood test can rule it out but it’s often overlooked by GPs. Good luck.
oh ok I will, thanks for the advice. I will check as I (only) 56!!! Although I had a very early hysterectomy for endometriosis and couldnt have oestrogen after so that is a high risk factor too
I'm with t1gernidster go and get checked for hyperparathyroidism it is renowned for leading to osteoporosis which GPs and other medical professionals don't consider can improve massively with the removal of the offending parathyroid gland ( s ). I know this as it happened to me. Fortunately I haven't had a fracture the hyperglycemia and hyperparathyroidism was found first. Osteoporosis was discovered as part of the investigation. I'm hoping things will improve now I'm post op. Good luck
HiI definitely will do this. I wonder if it is linked to early hysterectomy too? I have hypoglycemia so dont know if this a factor too.
Unfortunately early menopause brought on by a hysterectomy probably is. So many things you need to have checked out - I was checked for hyperparathyroidism, vitamin D and a few other things before deciding it is ‘just’ osteoporosis. Part of me hoped it would be hyperparathyroidism and that might fix things and the other part dreaded the op it would entail.So - early menopause, overactive thyroid, coeliac disease, IBD, hyperparathyroidism, rheumatoid arthritis, family history, taking steroids, taking PPIs - so many conditions that can lead to osteoporosis - that no one bothers to tell you about.
Have a look at the ROS website, you’ll find loads of good information on there they cover everything from diet and exercise to fashion to all the drugs used and if you have any questions ring or email their helpline for good advice 😟
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