Osteoporosis is a systemic skeletal diseases characterized by a low bone mass and microarchitectural deterioration of bone tissue, with a consequent increase in bone fragility and susceptibility to fracture.Osteoporosis affects mainly
postmenopausal women but also men, in either primary or secondary forms. Osteoporotic fractures, which represent the most relevant clinical aspects of the disease, occur in the hip, vertebrae, and distal radius. The main osteoporotic fractures differ in their mode of presentation. Whereas hip and radial fractures constantly come to the clinical attention, vertebral fractures have variable clinical presentation, in the sense that the majority of them are asymptomatic. Fractures of the hip
incur the largest direct costs for health services, and occur in the elderly, particularly women, and give rise to
substantial morbidity and mortality. Osteoporotic fractures of the vertebrae and forearm are of less economic
significance, but also give rise to significant morbidity. Vertebral fractures, that are also more common in women
than in men, are strongly related to age but appear earlier when compared to the hip fractures. The consequences of
vertebral fractures include back pain and disability, kyphosis and height loss. Vertebral fractures cause a
significant decrease in the quality of life, although the impact is less than that of hip fractures. Quality of life
becomes progressively impaired as the number and severity of vertebral fractures increases. Future risk of
osteoporotic fractures is greatly increased in patients with vertebral fractures.