lurudolph
04-16-2008, 01:41 PM
One of the risk factors used in calculating fracture risk is whether there is any family history of osteoporosis. My first thought was "no" since I don't recall any fractures or posture problems, but then I remembered that the last time I saw my father before his death we were the same height, meaning he'd lost 4"! He was in his early 80s but seemed healthy and was playing golf the day before he died. So I'm wondering if that height loss could be due to anything other than osteoporosis.
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AnnD
04-16-2008, 01:53 PM
Yes, my husband lost 2 inches secondary to three back surgeries. Also just aging causes it...as does a life of hard physical labor. In the old days of dam building some men carried cement on their backs ...My uncle carried cement for years and it caused his back to compress.
lurudolph
04-16-2008, 02:07 PM
Thanks AnnD. My father was a corporation attorney and the only things he lifted were a tennis racket and a golf club. So I guess that leaves aging or osteoporosis. But would aging alone account for the 4"?
AnnD
04-18-2008, 01:11 PM
Perhaps it seemed like 4 inches but I doubt that much because at the time he was elderly you also had aged and shorten up some. The answer to your original and last question is yes there are many causes of shortening.... but as to your specific family member I seriously doubt it was 4 inches.
yellowdaisy
05-05-2008, 07:06 AM
I believe I've read that the discs between the verterbrae kind of flatten out over the years, causing a height loss. My mother has lost height, she's 86, and she doesn't have osteoporosis because she recently had a bone density test. She seems to have lost about 4 inches to me.
lurudolph
05-05-2008, 01:13 PM
That's really helpful. I'm pretty sure my dad didn't have any fractures,and there's no other evidence of osteoporosis in my family, so maybe I can strike "family history" from my list of fracture risk factors. The more I read, the more likely it seems to me that it's the 60 lb weight loss that triggered the bone loss (maybe like the bone loss suffered by astronauts in space) and that conservative lifestyle changes may be enough to stop, or perhaps even reverse the loss. (And maybe that's just wishful thinking, since I would really like to avoid the slippery slope of medications.) Thank you so much!