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Back Pain from Osteoporosis
If you suffer from severe back pain and your doctor isn't sure of the cause, ask him or her if you need a bone density test to determine if you have osteoporosis.
All women and most men will suffer osteoporosis if they live long enough. Your bones are strongest in your twenties and become progressively weaker after that. Back pain can be caused by arthritis, pinched nerves and structural defects, but it also can be the only sign of osteoporosis, so most older people with back pain should get a bone density test.
If it shows that they have osteoporosis, they can be treated with intravenous pamidronate every three months for a year. A recent study from Belgium shows that this treatment improved the back pain caused by osteoporosis in most people, even those who had already broken bones in their spine. Taking extra calcium and vitamin D will not cure osteoporosis. Most people will not know whether they have osteoporosis unless they get a test to measure their bone density.
V Gangji, T Appelboom. Analgesic effect of intravenous pamidronate on chronic back pain due to osteoporotic vertebral fractures. Clinical Rheumatology, 1999, Vol 18, Iss 3, pp 266-267. Address: Appelboom T, Free Univ Brussels, Hop Erasme, Dept Rheumatol, 808 Route Lennik, B-1070 Brussels, BELGIUM
Checked 1/3/08