I Discovered I Had Osteoporosis When I Broke My Elbows

As told to Erica Rimlinger

I wasn’t taking risks when I fell. I was walking on a paved path in the park with my grown children when I just tripped on seemingly nothing. I lurched forward, leaving my feet behind me and my upper body hurtling toward the pavement. As a professional pianist, I thought I’d trained myself to not use my hands to catch myself during a fall, but when the moment came, instincts overcame intentions, and I landed on my hands.

Embarrassed, I got up quickly and insisted I was fine. But after a few steps I began to doubt that. My arms, wrists and hands were in a lot of pain. We turned around and went home.

The next day, my elbows were bruising, swelling and radiating pain. One elbow felt worse than the other. I suspected it was broken but also thought it was strange that such a short fall would generate the momentum to break bones.

Since my work requires the use of my arms and hands, I couldn’t let this injury go unexamined by a healthcare provider (HCP). I am a full-time music professor and musician performing both on campus as well as in professional venues around the country. My ability to play music is my livelihood.

An X-ray confirmed my suspicions: A bone in my elbow was broken. After my other elbow continued to throb and swell, I had it X-rayed as well, and there was a broken bone in that elbow too.

I’d never broken a bone in my life and now suddenly I had two broken bones. After some internet research, I came across a possible explanation for my sudden fragility: osteoporosis, a disease that weakens your bones. I called my HCP and asked if they thought a bone density test would be a good idea for me. I was only 58 years old: Most insurance plans normally won’t pay for bone density scans until age 60, but since I’d had a fracture and my HCP agreed I should have the test, it was covered by insurance.

I had two risk factors for osteoporosis before the fall: I was a middle-aged woman with a small body frame. However, I didn’t have other risk factors: Osteoporosis didn’t run in my family, I never smoked, I took a daily multivitamin for women and I exercised regularly.

After the bone density scan confirmed I had osteoporosis, I felt frail and vulnerable and nervous about walking. I’d always been a runner, a walker and a hiker. But now I avoided these activities. I was afraid of falling and breaking other bones.

I started taking a medication to reduce bone loss. I started swimming instead of walking. Swimming helped in so many ways. I gained strength, confidence and arm mass. I had always practiced yoga but now focused more effort on building balance and strength during my practice.

2025

My elbows healed, and I was grateful my wrists hadn’t broken. I could still play piano. In addition to teaching, I’m also a church musician. When my bones were broken, I missed just one Sunday on the piano. I wasn’t playing particularly well the week I returned, and I had to postpone a recording project and delay a concert, but I could play piano, and I was grateful for that. I had started to play guitar for a music therapy program, earning my certification in it just before my fall, and I had to relearn that skill after the bones in my elbows healed.

My fall was three years ago, and my doctor ordered a second bone density test a few months ago. I was amazed to learn that the medication I’d taken had reversed my bone loss. I’m still at risk for osteoporosis again in the future, but I now have a less severe version of it called osteopenia, which means my bone density is lower than normal but not low enough to be osteoporosis. Most people find out they have osteopenia before it develops into osteoporosis – like having prediabetes before a diabetes diagnosis. My diagnostic journey took me from the disease to the warning stage.

I’m sharing my story to help women understand the importance of taking charge of their bone health. I want people to know that bone health evolves — and you can improve your bone density with treatment and healthy lifestyle changes.

I intend to keep my bone health moving in the right direction. In addition to my medication, I take vitamin D and calcium supplements and do exercises that build bone strength. I’m grateful to continue to play music and enjoy the things I love, including hiking, which I’d been avoiding since my fall. On a recent visit to my son in Colorado, my husband and I went hiking in the mountains. I used hiking poles for added stability, but I didn’t let fear of falling stop me. Every time those poles hit the ground, it was music to my ears.

This educational resource was created with support from Amgen and UCB.

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