Living with spinal fractures

We explore the emotional and physical effects of living with spinal fractures, and where to go for further information and support.
Find out more about spinal fractures on our website: bit.ly/2TCBbjF
Alternatively, you can call our free Helpline on 0808 800 0035, Monday to Friday, 09:00-13:00 and 14:00-17:00
#osteoporosis #spinalfractures #bonehealth

[@mairiconnell6282]

I had a spontaneous fracture and then collapsed and my pelvis fractured. I tried for 15 hours to summon help. Climbing from my kitchen up a flight of stairs to my bedroom and a phone. I now have a panic button and just having it is a great comfort. The button has given me a sense of freedom. It also gives my son comfort, as he can't just pop in. This all happened at the start of co-vid and once I had a CT scan it became clear that I was living with lots of old, mending and new fractures. I am posting this as someone who has yet to have a face to face appointment. I have so many questions which my Specialist Nurse answers beautifully. Now I do exercise every day. Fear of moving has gone. My pain relief is now in place and I am about to have my second Zelondronic IV. ROS keep up your fantastic work. I didn't know you were on u tube but now I follow you on twitter also.

[@craftycx7197]

I wish I'd known about ROS when first diagnosed. Your videos and website are so helpful and would have saved me so much pain and anxiety. All GPs need to tell patients about it when they get their osteoporosis diagnosis.

[@jennifergroom7733]

Thank you to these brave ladies for sharing their experiences with others.

[@poolfield2]

I wasn’t even able to cope with finding out about osteoporosis to begin with and I plummeted into depression. Now a year on I am doing so much better, my pain from the fractures is gone and daily Pilates is helping strengthen my muscles and stretch the ligaments that seemed to seize up. I can even bend to tie my shoelaces without pain now and am walking for an hour 4 or 5 times a week and back to gardening but asking for help for heavy work. I needed antidepressants to get me through and they have helped tremendously but I have also had some CBT and have enrolled on a mindfulness course and am going to start reducing the antidepressants very slowly next month.

[@mairiconnell6282]

Oh fantastic!

[@chrissie.0864]

I’m having a similar experience - it’s so encouraging to hear that you’re pain free now - could you share what brand of CBT you found helped please 😀

[@poolfield2]

@@chrissie.0864 hang in there it will get better! I’m afraid I have no idea what kind of CBT it was, I just enrolled with an online counsellor. The exercise that helped me rewire my brain the most was recording 3 good things about the day in a journal just before I went to bed. I found walking with a friend helped get me out and about again, just little local walks. I also started looking for something to photograph each day, a bird or a flower or a leaf, something that showed the beauty in nature, this made me really notice positive things to be celebrated. I’m now struggling with arthritis but it hasn’t sent me back down the rabbit hole of depression so I obviously learned something along the way!

[@stephaniesenchantmentbouti6866]

I am 45 and have Osteoporosis, trauma on set menopause, and 7 broken vertebrae. I was dropped at Hospital here and broke further. I have waited over a year for treatment for that incident and now they say it has been over a year ( waiting on the doctors to be available) so the doctors say it is not acute. I am fighting to get treatment but losing .... I am so afraid. My father and little brother got even worse health care and are both dead as of this year. I am looking for any help I can get. I am a fighter and most doctors here are tied up in red tape. I am walking still even though the x rays say that is impossible. My dad and brother both served in the Army and I am afraid seeing how their care was what my options here in the US are even for Veterans let a person like me. I was 5'9 in 2020 now I am 5'3. The fear of not knowing and not being able to talk to anyone makes it so much worse. I have a high pain threshold ( thankfully) but pain is pain . Crocheting helps and keeps my mind occupied but having my life robbed from me when I needed my strength most for my family is breaking my heart. I cannot even afford to bury them but I was strong enough even against others wishes to prepare their bodies and have them cremated. This was especially difficult for my little brother as he was 6'7 and the crematories height limits here are 6'4 in the US. I thankfully knew the Zoo could accommodate his frame. I am a person willing to do whatever it takes and be creative on zero budget. I just need some help and I do not know how to ask for or get the help I need.

[@brutallyhonestguy5985]

Hello Stephanie I hope you are better now 💗🙏

[@kzp5249]

Pray you heal well.

[@AAB463]

Please update this post Stephanie. 🤞Hoping you are feeling better. Very sad for your loss; you do have amazing strength.

[@vickig7261]

Thank you for this video.

[@plfitzgerald4540]

from🇮🇪! I have had a compressed fracture on my lower back for 7 months and in gr8 pain after a CT scan Finally oetopor. my doc says ithe pain will gradually disappear … but WHEN ?