Help for Osteoporosis Sufferers in the Primary Care Office

Main Category: Bones / Orthopedics
Also Included In: Primary Care / General Practice
Article Date: 05 Jul 2005 - 4:00 PDT

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A primary care practitioner can help improve quality of life and mobility for those who suffer from pain resulting from osteoporosis-related fractures by referring a patient for two relatively new non-invasive procedures.

An article published recently in the Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners reviews the pathophysiology of osteoporosis and describes how these new treatments - vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty - are being used to treat the pain associated with vertebral compression fractures.


This injection prevents the fractured bone from moving and stabilizes the fracture, which provides relief from pain. Kyphoplasty utilizes the inflation of a balloon to raise the compressed bone before the cement is injected and can provide partial correction of the deformity in the fractured bone.

The National Osteoporosis Foundation estimates that 44 million Americans over 50 have osteopenia/osteoporosis; 80% of sufferers are women. Direct and indirect cost in 2002 amounted to 17 billion dollars with projected costs for the year 2030 at greater than 60 billion.

This study is published in theJuly issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners. Media wishing to receive a PDF of the article please contact
medicalnews@bos.blackwellpublishing.net.

Denise M. Lemke, MSN, CS-RN, ANP, CNRN is a Nurse Practitioner at the Medical College of Wisconsin, Department of Radiology. She has spent 3 years working with Interventional Neuroradiology and 23 years with Neurosurgery. Denise Lemke can be reached for questions and interviews at dmlemke@mcw.edu.

About the Journal

Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (JAANP) is a peer-reviewed professional journal that serves as the official publication of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners. Published since 1989, the JAANP is designed to serve the needs of nurse practitioners and other health care professionals who have a major interest in primary health care.

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