Safety first

A 77-year-old woman limped into my exam room aided only by a cane. She had a severe congenital scoliosis with which she had learned to cope well during her very productive life. Recently she had developed fine tremors in her hands and some difficulty holding her head still. She lives alone and maintains an active lifestyle.

She took great umbrage when I suggested that it would be much safer for her to use a walker instead of a cane in order to minimize her risk of falling. This is the usual response I get from patients who clearly have gait disturbances but are equally too proud to appear handicapped to the point of using a walker. While I can fully understand and admire this feeling I persist in promoting the use of a walker as politely as possible.

It takes but one fall to fracture a hip!

I strongly recommend that you get some copies of one or both of the following patient oriented brochures that discuss osteoporosis and its management. Each has an excellent section on safety and fall prevention.

1: The Surgeon General’s report on osteoporosis published in 2004 and available on line at www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/bonehealth/content.html. The summary of each section is worth perusing but specifically seek out the patient centered material.

2: “Boning Up on Osteoporosis” available on request from the National Osteoporosis Foundation at www.nof.org.

Dr. Kleerekoper is a member of the Board of Trustees of the National Osteoporosis Foundation