Can a Broken Femur
Result From Osteoporosis Drugs

The femur is the large bone that is in the upper part of the leg. This bone is big and sturdy and is designed to take a beating. A broken femur almost never occurs except for two reasons: major trauma like a car accident, or as a result of taking osteoporosis drugs- drugs that are supposed to make bones stronger.

A femur fracture is so unusual that In October 2010 the regulating body of the United States placed an FDA Black Box Warning on Osteoporosis drugs that they may increase the risk of a Broken Femur. This was placed there after the results of a disturbing study. The study found that in 97% of all non-traumatic femur fractures (meaning that there was no major accident to the bone), the person with the fracture was on the Osteoporosis drugs known as Bisphosphenates.

Osteoporosis Drugs May Very Well Cause Them

While the study stopped short of saying that bisphosphonates were the cause of these fractures, the fact that nearly all people with non traumatic femur fractures were on these drugs is a BIG issue. That these drugs certainly MAY be actually causing these fractures makes sense when you actually understand how they work.

Osteoporosis Drugs work by causing the loss of old bone cells to slow down. While this sounds good, unfortunately, it isn't necessarily a good thing. Old bone cells are SUPPOSED to die and be replaced by new healthy bone cells. But when you slow the death of old cells, then you GET more and more old bone cells in relation to new bone cells. These old bone cells are often 'stiffer' and more dense than newer and healthier bone cells. This higher density 'looks' good on a bone density scan, but the stiffer, older and more dense bone is more likely to break- like a piece of chalk. Snap!

A broken femur is not the first bone problem that these osteoporosis drugs have caused. There is also a higher incidence of a condition called osteonecrosis of the jaw. Just like it sounds, this condition is essentially death of bone cells in the jawbone. Since jaw bone cells reproduce faster than other bone cells, the medication helps to create a condition where more old cells stick around longer causing weakness and damage to the jaw. This terrible condition is extremely painful and requires extensive surgery in order to correct.

Why are They Prescribing these Drugs

Why Osteoporosis Drugs that cause Osteonecrosis of the jaw and Femur Fracture are still being prescribed when correcting the problems that cause osteoporosis in the first place are STILL not being recommended by most mainstream doctors is a mystery. Vitamin D and magnesium deficiency are widespread, even to the point of being called 'epidemic', yet few doctors utilize the widely available blood tests for these two nutrients that have been shown to reduce the incidence of osteoporosis.

Instead, they give only those at high risk an inadequate amount of Vitamin D, usually 600 to 800 IU's per day which is the Vitamin D Requirement researchers often recommend for newborns and not for adults, as well as a high dose of calcium. Unfortunately, Americans already have one of the highest intakes of calcium in the world- yet we also have the highest rate of osteoporosis in the world. Obviously, the problem is NOT one of calcium deficiency or of Bisphosphenate Drug deficiency, so why are these considered the standard of care for this problem? Good question…

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