May (not her real name) had seen her mother suffer from fractures in her latter years.  She had seen her mother struggle to manage by herself after a wrist fracture and then, following  a pelvis fracture she needed to go into an aged care home. 

At the age of 60 May fell while playing tennis and had a wrist fracture similar to her mother. Although the fracture was only minor and could be treated with a plaster cast, May sought advice from her GP as she had seen what had happened to her mother. May’s GP found that she already had weakened bones. May has now changed her lifestyle to optimise her bone health and is on medication to strengthen her bones and decrease her risk of another fracture. 

Research to date has shown that even a small fracture can greatly increase the risk of another fracture, which may have much more serious consequences. May realised this, but many people casually think that their fracture would have happened to anybody who fell like they did. Remember May and don’t let this mistake happen to you.