Priscilla's Story

Osteoporosis is a disease that causes bone to become weak and susceptible to fracture. Of the 10 million Americans with this disease, 80% are women, and having a mother with osteoporosis puts a daughter particularly at risk for fractures.

Priscilla Turner, 67, of Memphis, TN knows this risk all too well. Her 90-year-old mother, Jewell Fondren, suffers from osteoporosis (a disease that causes bone to become weak and susceptible to fracture). Over the past 30 years, Jewell has experienced a hip fracture, spinal fractures, and has a hunched back that may have been caused by multiple spinal fractures. Jewell, who lives with her daughter, has difficulty walking, cannot bend, and finds her clothes don't fit well because of her hunched back.

Two years ago, Priscilla seemed to be heading toward the same fate as her mother when she suffered from back pain. Priscilla went to see her doctor and discovered she had a spinal fracture. She was also diagnosed with osteopenia or low bone mineral density that can lead to osteoporosis .

"I just thought I was getting older", she said. "I didn't know my bones were breaking, but when my doctor told me I had a spinal fracture, I was very surprised."

Like Priscilla, the estimated 44 million Americans at risk for osteoporosis are often unaware that they have the disease until they break a bone, according to the National Osteoporosis Foundation (NOF), sponsors of National Osteoporosis Awareness and Prevention Month. However, today more information is known about the risk factors for osteoporosis and fractures.

If you have a low bone mineral density coupled with one or more other risk factors, you are at increased risk of having an osteoporosis-related fracture over the next 10 years, according to a recent publication by the World Health Organization (WHO). These risk factors include a previous fracture, a parent who has had a hip fracture, smoking, taking steroid medications, drinking three or more glasses of alcohol daily, and suffering from rheumatoid arthritis or from a disorder strongly associated with osteoporosis.

Less was known about osteoporosis years ago when Priscilla's mother was prescribed pain pills and bed rest to manage her osteoporosis-related spinal fractures. Treatments are now available to help strengthen bones, and new procedures have been developed to repair spinal fractures.

When Priscilla experienced her spinal fracture, her primary care physician referred her to orthopaedic surgeon Dr. Edward Pratt* of the Memphis Spine Center, who treated her spinal fracture with balloon kyphoplasty.

Balloon kyphoplasty is a minimally invasive procedure that can reduce back pain and correct the deformity caused by a spinal fracture. Small balloons are inserted and inflated in the fractured area of the spine to restore it back to its normal shape. After the balloons are deflated and removed, the cavity that has been created is filled with special bone cement, creating an internal cast.

Priscilla is exceedingly close to her mother. They spend afternoons on their parlor couch, reminiscing about their years together or sitting quietly as Priscilla reads and her mother knits. However, she knows that she does not want to suffer the same fate as her mother.

"Osteoporosis has kept Mama from being as mobile as I knew her years ago, Priscilla said. Her movements are restricted. She cannot bend nor do many activities around the house. Her walking is limited."

When Priscilla experienced her second spinal fracture in 2007 and her activities became restricted due to the back pain, she decided to take action to avoid her mother's fate. She again had her fracture repaired with balloon kyphoplasty and now exercises regularly and takes prescription drugs and calcium supplements to prevent more bone loss.

"Today I do everything", she said. "We have a two-story home, and I am always going up and down the steps, and I couldn't do that before the (balloon kyphoplasty) procedures because of my back pain. I am also gardening again. I walk two miles a day and work out on weight machines. I am a very active person. I don't sit."

The National Osteoporosis Foundation estimates that one in two women and one in four men over age 50 will experience an osteoporosis-related fracture in their lifetime. Dr. Pratt believes that efforts like National Osteoporosis Prevention and Awareness Month are helping to raise much needed awareness of the risks and treatments for osteoporosis and related fractures.

The world is beginning to gradually wake up and see that osteoporosis is a problem and that the best way to treat it is to stay ahead of it, says Dr. Pratt.

To learn more about osteoporosis, visit the National Osteoporosis Foundation at www.nof.org. For more information about spinal fractures, take the risk assessment, and go to www.spinalfracture.com.

*Paid consultant of Medtronic

Although the complication rate with KYPHON^® Balloon Kyphoplasty has been demonstrated to be low, as with most surgical procedures, there are risks associated with the procedure, including serious complications.  This procedure is not for everyone.  A prescription is required.  Please consult your physician for a full discussion of risks and whether this procedure is right for you.  For more information please call Medtronic at 1-888-645-4444 and/or visit www.kyphon.com.