Caring For Your Loved One With Osteoporosis

by Lila de Tantillo
Journalist, Caregiver

Caring for someone with osteoporosis is no easy task. You must constantly be on your guard against anything that could contribute to a fracture, the worst-case scenario for the osteoporosis patient. Because of the degenerative nature of the disease, you and your loved one are far more likely to experience setbacks rather than advances as bones become more brittle, perhaps despite onerous medication regimens. And possibly most frustrating, in many cases an older person with advanced osteoporosis may not be receptive toward, let alone appreciative of, the care you are trying to provide.

It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly when my mother and I became caregivers for my grandmother Lila Lery, whose osteoporosis became painfully evident in 1988 when she fell in a wet bathroom while bathing our cocker spaniel. The accident resulted in a broken hip and fractured wrist. After a long recovery and intense physical therapy, she was able to walk again, and capable of taking lamentable risks. Despite our best efforts, she suffered a broken shoulder in 1996 (picking up dog poop); a broken pelvis and other wrist in 2004 (tripping over oxygen tubing); and broken ribs and numerous compression fractures in her spine all along. She has not been able to walk unassisted since a 2005 fall – bending to pick up a plastic cup – resulted in a broken nose, dislocated shoulder and other medical problems. Despite her declining independence, her stubbornness remains fully intact, requiring the nursing home where she resides to maintain an alarm to alert the staff of any ill-advised attempt to head for the bathroom on her own.

I share these experiences because I understand what you are up against if you are a caregiver for someone with osteoporosis. Sometimes the worst challenge is not the disease itself, but the mindset of the patient. This article provides advice as to how to sensitively, and even lovingly, care for both the person and his or her condition. By doing so, you can make a great difference in the quality of life for the osteoporosis patient.

Dr. Mark Bridges, an orthopedic surgeon in Miami, Fla., has witnessed in his practice the importance of a devoted caregiver. “Patients who don’t have support end up doing more for themselves than they should be,” says Dr. Bridges.

When possible, caregivers can play a role helping out with household chores that require exertion. For example, Dr. Bridges notes, lifting heavy objects can cause compression fractures in the spine for those with advanced osteoporosis. Caregivers can help not only by taking over routine tasks, but by trying to influence the osteoporosis patient’s judgment and discourage him or her from taking unnecessary risks. If the patient, for instance, has been advised to use a stabilizer such as a cane or walker, the caregiver can try to convince a loved one to comply. Or they can intervene if the loved one is trying to do something dangerous like get up on a footstool, as my grandmother often did.

“That’s a big deal,” Dr. Bridges says. Otherwise, all too often, “they’re reaching for something and they fall and they have a broken hip or wrist.”