Many geriatric patients are at risk for falls because of their poor coordination, poor vision, overall muscle weakness, confusion, and medications that may alter their sensorium. Osteoporosis is a generalized progressive diminution of bone density. It is a metabolic process characterized by a gradual decrease in the absolute bone mass. The remodeling of bone both formation and re-absorption is a continuous process. In osteoporosis, the bone mass is decreased, indicating that the rate of bone re-absorption has exceeded that of bone formation.
Osteoporosis causes skeletal weakness.
In normal bone, the bone formation and bone re-absorption are closely coupled. However in osteoporosis the net rate on bone re-absorption exceeds the rate of bone formation, resulting in a decrease in bone mass without a defect in bone mineralization. This declining bone mass leads to a known increase in susceptibility to fractures which may result from insignificant movements and accidents. Peak bone mass in men and women occur by the middle of the third decade of life and then plateaus for about 10 years. Osteoporotic fractures in women are a major health concern in the United States.