Bone Disease

What is Bone Disease?

Most people think of osteoporosis (referring to porous bones) when they think of bone disease, but many conditions can weaken or damage your bone structure. Low bone density—from environmental causes such as vitamin or mineral deficiencies or use of steroids—can increase your risk of developing osteoporosis.

Kidney disease, endocrine or gland problems, genetic conditions, bacterial infections, and some cancers can also lead to bone disease.

Another condition known as avascular necrosis occurs most often in the upper leg, when the bone’s blood supply gets interrupted, causing the bone to become brittle.

By the Numbers

1 in 3 women experience a bone fracture from osteoporosis after age 50

UR Medicine's Treatments for Bone Disease

Because bone disease can have so many causes, our UR Medicine Bone Health team uses the most advanced diagnostic tools available to develop a complete understanding of your condition, its causes, and the path we’ll take to help you.

During a full physical exam, we take a detailed medical history and may ask about other symptoms that you may not realize could be connected to bone disease. Once we have a complete picture of your symptoms and your health, our doctors will order imaging and other tests to find the cause.

You can change dietary and lifestyle behaviors to help improve your bone health. Your physician can discuss these options with you and can use the results of your bone density evaluation to help develop a treatment plan that best meets your needs.

In addition, the Metabolic Bone Clinic in the Division of Endocrinology focuses on the evaluation and care of patients with conditions that affect bone and mineral metabolism.

Conditions We Treat

Arthritis
Avascular Necrosis (Osteonecrosis or Ischemic Bone Necrosis)
Bone Disease After Organ Transplant
Fibrous Dysplasia
Hyperparathyroidism
Infectious Arthritis
Juvenile Osteoporosis
Metastatic Cancer
Osteogenesis Imperfecta
Osteomyelitis
Osteopenia
Osteoporosis
Paget's Disease
Psoriatic Arthritis
Reactive Arthritis (Reiter's Syndrome)
Renal Osteodystrophy
Rheumatoid Arthritis

Treatments include medications and occasionally injections and infusions. We work with patients to create a personalized diet, lifestyle, and treatment plan to improve bone health.

What Sets Us Apart?

The area’s most extensive bone health program. UR Medicine's Center for Bone Health is one of only a handful in the country that combine total orthopaedic care with the treatment of metabolic bone disease for patients of all ages.

Physicians at the forefront of science. UR Medicine Bone Health providers have expertise in the diagnosis and treatment of all adult and pediatric metabolic bone diseases—diseases that affect bone strength.

The specialists in UR Medicine Orthopaedics & Physical Performance are experts in fracture care, the first to spot and treat fractures that are often the initial symptoms of metabolic bone disease. In addition, we are the only program in the Rochester area that can diagnose and treat children as young as 5.

Our teams bring together pediatric endocrinology, orthopaedics, nephrology, rheumatology, endocrine surgery, and medical genetics experts to provide complete care.