New thesis on osteoporosis and complementary treatment methods for elderly women
Hi Elin Uzunel, doctoral student at the Division of Family Medicine and Primary Care, NVS. On February 14, you will defend your thesis ”Fragility fractures, self-rated health and treatment with a spinal orthosis in older women in primary health care”. What is the main focus of the thesis?
”The thesis is about osteoporosis and complementary treatment methods for elderly women with osteoporosis and back pain in primary care. Osteoporosis itself does not cause symptoms, but it means that you have weaker bones that break more easily. When you have osteoporosis, you can get fractures from, for example, tripping on a rug at home or lifting a grocery bag. There are medications that can prevent fractures in osteoporosis, but often osteoporosis is not suspected until after a fracture. Patients should be suspected and investigated for osteoporosis earlier in the process. More treatment options are also needed for those with osteoporosis-related back pain,” says Elin Uzunel, doctoral student at the Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society.
Which are the most important results?
”We found that women who rated their health as low or medium had three times higher risk of suffering from osteoporosis-related hip fractures within 10 years compared to those who rated their health as high. We also found that both resistance training and the use of an activating back brace increased back muscle strength.”
How can this new knowledge contribute to the improvement of people's health?
”Self-assessed health could provide information to healthcare to identify people at high risk for osteoporosis-related fractures. This way, osteoporosis can be investigated and treated earlier, which can lead to fewer fractures. Activating back braces can be a complement to treatment for osteoporosis and back pain.”
What’s in the future for you? Will you continue to conduct research?
I will continue to work as a specialist in Family medicine. At the moment, I have no concrete research plans, but we will see in the future.