Assessment and Management of Pain in Patients with Osteoporotic Fragility Fracture

摘要

Fragility fractures are fractures caused by mechanical forces, known as low-level or low-energy trauma that would not ordinarily lead to fractures. Such forces, quantified by the World Health Organization (WHO), are as forces equivalent to a fall from a standing height or less. As both a sign and a symptom of osteoporosis [1], fragility fractures most frequently occur in the vertebrae, proximal femur, and distal radius [2]. Currently, fragility fractures have become a major public health problem, resulting in high socioeconomic impacts [3–6]. For individuals, fragility fractures often lead to chronic pain, loss of autonomy, deterioration in quality of life, and need for care [5]. Risk factors of fragility fractures include increasing age, postmenopausal females, decreased bone mineral density (BMD), systemic corticosteroid therapy, rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and family history of osteoporosis [2].