Hi Ruth,

Thank you for your question. Here is some basic information to start off with, relating to how aging affects bones, muscles, and joints. While it's not a direct response to why your mother is tilting backwards, which may require an in-person evaluation, it may better prepare you for a conversation with a medical professional.

The information about the effects of aging on bones, muscles and joints is from our sister site, MyOsteoarthritisCentral.com.

Regarding your question, "Is this osteoporosis?": Please understand that we cannot make diagnoses on this site and that only your mother's doctor can do that. I can tell you that if you are concerned about your mother having osteoporosis, she should talk to her doctor, and she may want to ask her doctor about doing a bone density scan if she hasn't had one yet, as such scans are typically recommended for women over 65.

Here is some helpful information on what to expect with diagnosing osteoporosis.

Dr. Neil Gonter also recently wrote about who should get tested for osteoporosis, and it's worth a quick read.

Let me know if you have any other questions. Hope this gets you started in the right direction, and I'll pass the "tilting backwards" part on to others.

Sarah