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Significant osteoporosis: I need a bone plan
Osteoporosis & Bone Health | Last Active: Dec 10, 2022 | Replies (88)Comment receiving replies
In talking about good and flexible bone, I'm wondering if anyone has managed to get a Traebecular Bone Score, TBS, which is a "bone mineral density (BMD) -independent predictor of fracture risk." (A Meta-Analysis of Trabecular Bone Score in Fracture Risk Prediction and Its Relationship to FRAX) in Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, Vol.31, No.5, May 2016, pp940-948). DXA scans measure bone quantity, not bone quality. From what I've read, two bones can have the same DXA score, but, when subjected to pressure, a brittle bone will break, a flexible bone will not.
I read a study in which TBS tests were done on particpants with DXA scores that indicated osteoporosis, but with the TBS test, a significant number were found not to have osteoporosis. I will try to find the reference for that.
It's frustrating because I don't think TBS tests are available in our state.
A good resource for learning about osteoporosis (and other) drugs is Worst Pills, Best Pills. You can get some information for free, but subscription rates are nominal.
Since diagnosis, I'm taking Boron, Vitamin K, Silica and L. Reuteri in addition to Calcium Citrate and Magnesium, Vitamin D, strength train (special exercises for osteoporosis) three times a week and walk three times a week, in addition to using a Whole Body Vibration Exercise machine (with caution). I also take alendronate once a week. I agree, the diagnosis is depressing. I wish I had taken better care of my bones when I was younger! Here's to a fracture free New Year.
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Wow, I feel like I'm following you down the same rabbit hole! After being diagnosed recently with osteoporosis, among the many studies I've dug up are:
* Is bone mineral density predictive of fracture risk reduction?
<at nih gov site>
and
* Bone microarchitecture assessed by TBS predicts osteoporotic fractures independent of
bone density: The manitoba study
<at asbmr online library>
If I'm interpreting that latter study right, a TBS score is, or at least *can* be "derived" from a *prior* DXA scan. Search on the word "derived" and see what you come up with as far as interpreting this. Studies are so hard to interpret! I want at least a CliffNotes Version Conclusions section. 🙂 What this study concluded as far as the *helpfulness* of TBS scores, at least in this particular study, is even fuzzier to me than whether a TBS score can be figured *after the fact* (= after a DXA scan, then taken from the DXA scan figures/images).
I had also seen the article you're referencing, called "A Meta-Analysis of Trabecular Bone Score in Fracture Risk Prediction and Its Relationship to FRAX" from a Journal of Bone and Mineral Research (JBMR) -- Vol. 31, No. 5, May 2016, pp 940–948a. I got it from Sara Meeks, a physical therapist who has many videos on YouTube and is quite an exercise/physical therapy expert. That study says: "When additionally adjusted for FRAX 10-year probability of major osteoporotic fracture, TBS remained a significant, independent predictor for fracture."