DEAR DR. ROACH: My mom had a compression fracture to her L2 vertebrae due to osteoporosis. Her head leans forward constantly. It has created difficulty for her when looking forward while walking and sleeping. Do you have anything that you can suggest for her to do? — J.F.

ANSWER: Compression fractures of the neck, chest and lower spine are more common than hip fractures. They can cause loss of function, chronic pain, depression, and loss of independence. For all these reasons, prevention is critically important, and nobody is at a higher risk than a person who has already had a fracture. So, the first thing I suggest is making sure that your mom is getting proper treatment to reduce her risk of another fracture.

Kyphosis, sometimes called a “dowager hump,” is a frequent complication of

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