Turkish Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation 2007 , Vol 53 , Num 3

Osteoporosis in Patients with Spinal Cord Injury

Duygu Geler Külcü 1
1 Haydarpaşa Numune Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi, Fiziksel Tıp ve Rehabilitasyon Kliniği, İstanbul, Türkiye

It is well known that bone demineralization and osteoporosis occur in spinal cord-injured patients which may lead to pathologic fractures. There is a dramatic increase in bone degradation after a short time from the beginning and a decrease in osteoblastic activity. Many factors may effect bone mineral density in spinal cord-injured patients such as age, sex, level of injury, time since injury, lesion completeness, hormonal status, ambulatory status, spasticity, and rehabilitative interventions. Recent studies have investigated the factors effecting bone mineral density in spinal cord-injured patients as well as the prevention of osteoporosis. In this paper, the results of these studies were reviewed.

Keywords : Spinal cord injury, osteoporosis, bone mineral density