The main thing you need to know is that you are more at risk for Osteoporosis if you are a woman who also has MS. Osteoporosis is characterized by a lack of bone density which affects many women as they grow older. It seems that Multiple Sclerosis can accelerate this process of losing bone mass.  An article in the International Journal of MS Care (Vol. 4, March 2002) reports that in one study less than half of the participants with MS had normal bone density.  Women with MS are particularly susceptible to getting Osteoporosis due to things like using corticosteroid therapy and antiepileptic medications and the effect of limitations in mobility.  Add to this, women with MS may have symptoms of impaired balance, lack of coordination, and leg muscle weakness, which can lead to falls and increased risk for fractures.   

I have asked both Vicki Bridges, a writer here for MS Central who suffers from both MS and Osteoporosis and Pamela Flores, the Community Leader and writer for Health Central's Osteoporosis Connection to join us in discussing the link between Osteoporosis and MS and what we can do to possibly prevent it. 

Pamela and Vicki, how long have you had Osteoporosis?  When did it start and what were the warning signs?

Pamela:  I've had osteoporosis for over 20 years.  I was diagnosed in my early 30's from a bone biopsy which was done because I had several failed spinal surgeries.  There really weren't any warning signs.  I found out accidentally after having a spinal fracture and two subsequent failed fusions.  I did go through early non-surgical menopause so I believe this loss of estrogen along with a family history of osteoporosis was the reason I contracted it so young. 

Vicki: I have known about my osteoporosis for more than 10 years now. I have to believe I actually had it longer than that.

There were warning signs all over, yet I did not know. I was unaware that osteoporosis affected other people besides little old ladies.

One day, when Garry helped me transfer from my wheelchair to the car, we both heard a popping sound. I suddenly felt a pain in my leg, and we just looked at each other. Something was definitely wrong. My leg was fractured with the simple transferring from a wheelchair to a car. The fracture itself did not tell me I was a risk for osteoporosis. I was not old enough -- I had not yet gone through menopause.

Had I known then, or before then, about osteoporosis risks, I would have seen several warning signs. For example, regarding family history, my mother had osteoporosis. I have always been small framed, and I have European ancestry. There are two more warning signs.

I always walked a lot, and dancing was a favorite pastime. I often carried two young children, so the exercise and even the weight-bearing exercise was not a problem. I had been living in a wheelchair for two years before my bone snapped, so I was relatively inactive. There is another warning.