Deborah a 75yearold woman stumbled slightly while walking th

Deborah, a 75-year-old woman, stumbled slightly while walking, then felt a terrible pain in her left hip. At the hospital, X-ray images revealed that the hip was broken. Also, compact and spongy bone throughout her spine were very thin. What was her probable condition?

Solution

As it is mentioned her bones were spongy, we know a bone is weakened by the \"holes\" in the \"sponge\". The bones become porous and weak. Her probable condition was Osteoporosis.

The bone reaches maximum density and strength around 30 years of age for women, and later bone mass tends ot drop as age progresses. For post menopausal women (usually after the age of 50 years), estrogen production is reduced which causes increased risk of osteoporosis.