Bone health

Osteoporosis often goes undetected

Osteoporosis occurs when you lose too much bone or your body makes too little of it. About half of all women and one in four men age 50 or older will break a bone due to osteoporosis and experience a fragility fracture.

Fragility fractures are more common than a heart attack, stroke and breast cancer combined. Yet less than half of the people with fragility fractures are tested or treated for osteoporosis. Without proper care and steps to enhance bone health, fragility fractures can cause long-term complications.

Personalized bone health plans

ProHealth Care’s bone health team wants to ensure patients receive the treatment and care they deserve. If you experience a fragility fracture, team members will work collaboratively to help ensure proper diagnosis, treatment and education. They have one goal — maximizing your quality of life.

The program is open to women and men of all ages. To get started, call 262-928-5900 to request a consultation. A nurse practitioner will ask questions and review your specific case so a treatment plan can be developed to meet your bone health needs.

Specially trained experts

The bone health team is guided by a physician serving as the program’s medical director. You may work with a number of professionals during your treatment, including:

• Nurse practitioner – Meets with all patients and provides medical evaluation, medication management, education and follow-up care.
• Dietitian – Recommends foods and nutrients to increase bone density and enhance calcium absorption.
• Physical therapist – Works with patients to improve bone health, improve balance and increase mobility.
• Endocrinologist – Helps correct hormonal imbalances that may impact bone health and strength.
• Nephrologist – Monitors and treats patients who have bone disease resulting from chronic kidney disease.
• Radiologist – Diagnoses fragility fractures using various forms of imaging technology and osteoporosis using a dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scan.

What to expect

Following an in-person consultation, your nurse practitioner may order or prescribe:

• Blood or urine test to measure levels of different enzymes, proteins and other substances that provide clues about your bone health.
• Bone density or DXA scan, a type of X-ray that measures the strength and thickness of your bones.
• Medication to help reduce the rate at which your bones break down or increase bone formation to help prevent fractures.

Education plays a key role in osteoporosis prevention and recovery from fragility fractures. Information and tips will be provided to help you adopt healthy habits to protect your bones. Routine follow up is also an important part of all treatment plans as the risk of osteoporosis and its impact increase with age.

Nationally recognized program

ProHealth’s bone health program has been named a Star Performer by the American Orthopaedic Association’s Own the Bone program. The designation was awarded for demonstrating a commitment to helping patients understand their risk for future fractures and the steps they can take to prevent them.

The ProHealth team maintained a high level of compliance with core prevention measures tracked as part of the association’s quality improvement program and was recognized for delivering the highest level of fragility fracture and bone health care.