The charity said British men suffered about 12,000 hip and 10,000 spinal fractures every year. A 3rd of patients said they experienced unbearable pain, which made walking, standing and sitting very difficult. More than half were taking painkillers and had little energy and considerable loss of independence. Osteoporosis is a risk for post-menopausal women, who start losing calcium from their bones as levels of the hormone estrogen drop. Loss of height is also a very common sign and in men this is often more dramatic than in women.
Doctors recommend eating more foods containing calcium when younger.