“You’d think I’d crashed a motorcycle.” The case of Maggie H. Maggie’s case is representative of a large population of small-frame Caucasian, postmenopausal women who develop osteoporosis and suffer...

“You’d think I’d crashed a motorcycle.” The case of Maggie H.

Maggie’s case is representative of a large population of small-frame Caucasian, postmenopausal women who develop osteoporosis and suffer fractures. Fitness was important in her uneventful recovery. Had she been older and less fit, she might have become bedfast and been put at risk for pneumonia, thromboembolism, and other complications. Lack of estrogen was certainly a factor in her osteoporosis, but she rejected long-term hormone replacement therapy because of her family history of breast cancer. Vitamin D, calcium, and bisphosphonates should stabilize her osteoporosis but will not substantially reverse it.