Broken bones aren’t just a normal part of getting older — they can be life-changing. The Royal Osteoporosis Society is calling on Mumsnet users to take part in The Great British Bone Check and spend five minutes checking their risk, so more mums and grans can stay strong and healthy for life.
We don’t often think about our bones — until something goes wrong. Most of us assume they’ll quietly do their job, keeping us strong, steady and upright for life.
But here’s the truth: our bones hit peak strength much earlier than you might think — around the age of 30. After that, we all start to gradually lose bone strength. For women, menopause speeds that process up dramatically, which increases your risk of developing osteoporosis.
Osteoporosis makes bones so fragile that even a cough, sneeze or a hug from the grandkids can cause a painful, debilitating break (also known as a fracture). Half of women over 50 will break bones because of osteoporosis. That’s every other mother, every other grandmother. A fifth of men over 50 will suffer with it too.
Many of us think broken bones are trivial and even a normal part of getting older — in reality they can be life-changing, even life-ending. Broken bones caused by osteoporosis are the fourth biggest cause of disability and premature death in the UK.
The good news? There are safe, effective medicines that stop osteoporosis in its tracks. The bad news? Two-thirds of people with the disease aren’t getting access to these vital medicines — thanks to a postcode lottery for NHS bone health clinics.
That’s why we're demanding change. Together, we’ve already won a major victory: the UK government has promised to roll out Fracture Liaison Services (the gold-standard bone health clinics) everywhere by 2030. That will save thousands of lives.
But tackling low awareness is just as important as giving people access to clinics. Too many people are only diagnosed after breaking numerous bones — breaks that could have been prevented.
For example, one of our volunteers lived with ten broken bones in his spine, because his GP mistook his back pain for “age-related wear and tear” and didn’t consider osteoporosis.
Cases like this are a needless tragedy. That’s why the Royal Osteoporosis Society launched a five-minute Bone Health Risk Checker — with the help of our President, Her Majesty The Queen, whose own mum and grandmother both suffered so badly with osteoporosis. Our Risk Checker helps you understand your risk factors for osteoporosis, from your genes to your lifestyle, and provides you with personalised bone health results in less than five minutes.
Since the tool’s launch, over half a million people have checked their risk. And 66,000 of those people got an early diagnosis and access to treatment afterwards.
Now we’re going further, by launching The Great British Bone Check with the encouragement of the Palace. We want this to be a national event – with as many people checking their risk of osteoporosis and broken bones as possible.
Our aim is to help three million people check their risk by 2030.
And we’d love Mumsnet and Gransnet users to lead the way. It’s been so good to have the support of this platform, especially since so many members will be living with undiagnosed osteoporosis. They’re the people we want to empower.
Osteoporosis is one of the most urgent threats to people living well in later life. But with an early warning and a prompt assessment, people can get the treatment they need to live well.
So take five minutes to keep your bones strong and healthy for life – check your risk today.
Let’s achieve the future for mums and grans we all want – No more broken bones, no more broken lives.
Craig Jones, CEO, The Royal Osteoporosis Society