Skiing with osteopenia/osteoporosis

Hi all, thanks for the input. The doctor Mrs D saw was a consultant in osteoporosis who is a skier. What is difficult to gauge is whether he is simply saying don't ski, as to say do ski would leave him open to criticism later or that he genuinely believes that it simply wouldn't be a good idea - I suspect it was the latter. She is already on Calcium and Vitamin D and is to start Alendronic Acid which is medicine for rebuilding her bone density. We already bought a Forcefield back protector before we had this latest consultation, on the basis that the doctor might agree that taking suitable preventative action would be enough, not expecting him to say stop completely.
I have pondered on speaking to the Disability people at the Chill Factore to see what they say, or to find a physio who deals with sports injuries to see what they say, and to get general advice on what see can still do at the gym, as getting that sort of info is not easy to get. If anyone knows anybody they could recommend, please do.

andymol2 I agree entirely about your concern for a specific reason not to ski. As I said, Mrs Dean has fallen over many times in her first year, and we experienced a few knocks getting of and on chair lifts last Feb, but none of these did any damage other than a bruise or two.

ally Free Spirit would in fact insure her, despite her condition, it put the premium up by about £50 a year, not bad considering.

Hi Dixie Dean,
I'm glad to hear the insurance angle is covered :D

Forgive my ignorance, but assuming the worst happens and your wife breaks a bone, what effect will the osteopenia have on how long it takes to heal? Has the consultant told you? Is it worth the risk?

If it just meant something like the bone would take an extra 2 weeks to heal then I'd say go ahead. But if it meant that it would never heal properly and it would give your wife problems for the rest of her life then I'd say 'no' she shouldn't ski.

Do you see what I mean? I don't know the facts about this.

Ally

Hi Ally

In my wife's case, the reduced bone density is in her lower spine, i.e. where others might have a slight aero (chocolate) effect my wife has larger holes in her bone. The horizontal layers tend not to break, but the vertical strands do. Therefore, layers collapse (fracture) under stress, this could be by turning at a funny angle and causing the bone to be squashed and collapse, or reaching into a high cupboard or carrying heavy shopping, any of which could also result in a collapse. These collapses never repair (although they may consolidate) leading eventually to the curvature of the spine associated with some older people, particularly women. So my wife could fall over many times and may suffer no relevant injury, however one twist putting her seatbelt on one day, and twang goes one of the vertical bars in her spine.

Actual fractures as in the sort I might get normally, and which of course Mrs D could get if she fell over (as opposed to the stress fractures in her spine) will still heal as normal. She could get one of them in a leg or arm and it would be a normal recovery. A stress fracture to her spine resulting from a fall would not repair.

Another issue, is that often minor vertical fractures often go unnoticed and don't cause any immediate pain, they are termed as silent. However, they do in the long term have a cumulative effect of curvature.

I notice that the Spire hospital in Liverpool have a physiotherapy department that specialises in osteoporosis and have their own bone density machine, so I might give them a ring and see if we can get a consultation and a better idea of what exercise my wife can do to strengthen her muscles and help rebuild her bones, as well as an idea of whether any more skiing is possible and what if anything she can do at the gym.

Cross country skiing has been also suggested as being very good for osteoporosis.

To sum up, the whole matter is very daunting, is causing Mrs D some sleepless nights, and a very heavy feeling that something she was really enjoying, both skiing and her running, may be over. It is something I think we need to know as much as we can about so that we are well informed to make the best decisions to what she can and can't do in the future.

Thanks Dixie Dean,
It does indeed seem to be a very complex situation. Do you think the treatment she's having now will strengthen the weak bones in her spine so that she'd have a better chance of being okay next year? Or not?

Best of luck with getting some clearer advice from the doctors on this :D

Based on what you've said, I would say she'd be okay to ski very carefully - like stick to wide easy blue runs instead of black and maybe try to surround her with a phalanx of your friends to guard her from some idiot crashing into her.

Ally

Hi DixieDean,

I've been reading this thread with interest. I'm really sorry to hear about MrsD, and really hope she gets some good news soon.

Anyway, I just took a quick look on the internet to see whether I could find anything on skiing with osteopenia. Came across an old thread on (I think) an American site called Ski Diva. Some of the ladies said that they still ski after having been diagnosed with it, and their readings are similar to MrsD's. They are in the 'I'm not going to let this spoil my fun' camp.

I've been wondering what I would do in the same situation. Would I say stuff it, if I can injure myself just as easily putting on a seat belt I may as well get some fun in before something happens? Or would I be sensible and consider that I would prefer not to add any additional risk? I'm really not sure. It's a very personal decision.

NHS direct suggests the National Osteoporosis Society for support (http://www.nos.org.uk/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?PID=268&srcid=). Maybe MrsD would feel better speaking to others who have been in the same situation? No doubt some of them have been and potentially still are skiers. Maybe they can offer some real experience and possibly inspiration for MrsD who is probably feeling pretty low at the moment.

EDIT - I'm not suggesting that this is a substitute for seeking more medical advice, just that it's an additional avenue for support :D

Once again, thanks for your support ladies and gents. Emma I too spotted the ski divas, so some ladies are obviously continuing. My wife has been through a lot to learn to ski so proficiently, and it would be fair to say that when she started it was full on fear factor. It took 12 months of going to the Chill Factore every fortnight until she felt in charge of her skis when pushing off at the top. Last September she did her first reds at Zermatt on the glacier and over the last few weeks was transitioning to becoming a really proficient carving type skier with minimum upper body movement and a very nice style.

The problem for her now is that the initial fear factor is back with a vengeance in the form of the possibilities for collisions and the like occurring as soon as she sets foot on the piste.

I was a bobby until I retired a few years ago and you get taught to constantly risk assess as you work, you get a raised awareness about all that it going on around you and you are always looking for danger and threats, whether they be with hooligans, villains or other road users.

So I'm constantly scanning all around for problems when I ski. Mostly there are none, but I very quickly spot potential issues. My wife has never had to do this and so the whole concept of being risk aware is alien to her and is something she is going to have to learn.

Regrettably I think in the short term the whole matter is just too big to get her head around. Already she has said she couldn't bear going on holiday with the rest of us in 2 weeks time and that it will be less torture to stay at home.

Mrs SwingBeep was diagnosed with osteopenia last year. She has no intention of giving up skiing or any other sporting activity and was not advised to by her doctor. She was also prescribed Calcium and Vitamin D tablets but didn't take them because they may increase the risk of a heart attack.

I've been looking around the web at ski injuries and remembered a site I came across last year http://www.ski-injury.com/injury-statistics/stats1#location

It lists ski injuries in order of prevalence, but there is no mention of back injuries, which pretty much must indicate that the likelihood of injuring your back is next to zero. I have emailed the doctor who runs the site to see if this is a reasonable conclusion.