Muscle strength key to avoiding fracture

Older men who have a weakening of their muscles (sarcopaenia) and either osteoporosis or osteopenia (bone mineral density that is lower than normal) are almost three times as likely to experience bone fractures, than if they have only one of the conditions.

US experts followed about 5,700 older men and 1,000 women for up to nine years and found that when sarcopaenia combined with weak bones, the risk of fracture in older men doubled.

The research highlights the need to consider sarcopaenia, particularly in men, when assessing risk of fracture (and was presented at the American Society of Bone and Mineral Research 2013 Annual Meeting).

“If other studies find similar results, we strongly suggest a paradigm shift of adopting a more holistic approach and assessing the risk of fractures by looking not only at the bones but at the muscles,” says Dr Didier Chalhoub who was involved in the work.