Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis, the most common metabolic bone disorder, is a condition characterized by the progressive loss of bone strength. It affects mainly postmenopausal women and men over the age of seventy. The main consequence of this compromised bone strength is an increased tendency to fracture and preventing osteoporosis related fractures is the central focus of the NYUHJD Osteoporosis Center.
Fracture prevention begins with identifying patients with low bone density values and the Osteoporosis Center is able to offer on-site bone density testing. Patients who require treatment have a full array of exciting and effective therapies available to them often including clinical trials with drugs not yet available to the general public. Patients who require physical therapy are enrolled in individually tailored therapy programs under the guidance of therapists who have advanced training in osteoporosis.
A newly established balance evaluation and training program designed in collaboration with the Rusk Institute is tailored to reducing falls in patients with balance problems and osteoporosis. Falls prevention is critical to our efforts to further reduce the incidence of fractures among patients with bone loss. Patients may be seen at the Osteoporosis Center or the Osteoporosis Clinic both located at the Hospital for Joint Diseases.
Are you a candidate for this study?
If you have already sustained any type of fracture, we are enrolling patients now for a voluntary program designed to try to help prevent you from having another fracture. This program, “A New Model of Care for Osteoporosis” has been made possible by a grant given to the Osteoporosis Center at the NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases by the Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation. It is widely known that many people who sustain certain types of broken bones (fractures) may have “weaker bones” than is normal for their age.
Unfortunately, many people who have had a broken bone (fracture) are not aware that they may have a problem with their bones and that they may be at risk for additional fractures. Identifying such patients and making them aware of the relationship between weak bones and increased fracture events is the first step in developing strategies to reduce the incidence of new fractures.
If you are over the age of 50 and have had a fracture and received care at either NYU Medical Center or the NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases, please contact Sonja Rivera at 212-598-6134 for more information on our study. We recommend that women of this age group who have had a fracture speak to their doctor so that they can be evaluated to see if they have evidence of significant bone loss.
For more information call:
Osteoporosis Center: 212-598-6367