What is Osteoporosis?
Osteoporosis is a condition of thin bones. Our bones are constantly breaking down and replenishing themselves. When we are young and healthy, this process is balanced. As we age, we lose more bone than we make. Because of that, our bones become thin and fragile. After menopause, women start losing bone if they are not on estrogen therapy, and medications like prednisone and anti-epileptics also thin our bones. People with calcium kidney stones may also lose both the calcium they take in and calcium from their bones through their kidneys, increasing their risk of bone loss and osteoporosis.
Osteoporosis and fractures are major health problems for millions of people. Osteoporosis is silent like high blood pressure. You dont feel osteoporosis unless you fracture, and surprisingly, you can sometimes have a compression fracture of your spine or back and still not feel it! One third of all spine fractures are painless, you dont even know it occurred, yet it can lead to height loss and a curve in your upper back over time. The problem with silent fractures and a silent disease like osteoporosis is that your risk of another fracture can be 20 times greater if you have already fractured, even if you don't know you did.
There are no outward signs of osteoporosis until a fracture occurs. In the United States, half of women and one-fourth of men 50 years or older will suffer an osteoporosis related fracture within their lifetime.
ABOUT US
Dr. Lynn Kohlmeier
Dr. Lynn Kohlmeier received her undergraduate degree at Yale University and her medical degree at Stanford University. She completed her internal medicine residency at the New England Deaconess Hospital, Harvard Medical School and returned to Stanford for her endocrinology fellowship. Both at Stanford and following her fellowship, at the Brigham & Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, she was involved in osteoporosis research studying hip fracture and vitamin D deficiency. Dr. Kohlmeier was awarded a National Osteoporosis Foundation Grant, and a Young Investigator Award for work with the calcium-sensing receptor.
Dr. Kohlmeier is a Clinical Instructor of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine, Director of the Spokane Osteoporosis Centers, and a board member for both the Washington Osteoporosis Coalition and the BMD-Standardization and Site Accreditation Committee for the International Society of Clinical Densitometry. She is Co-Founder and Director of the Osteoporosis Resource & Screening Centers in Spokane, which provide free educational services and bone density screening for the community, as well as the Sacred Heart Women's Center Osteoporosis Education Program. Founder of Strong Start, Dr Kohlmeier and Dr. Carey provide assistance to osteoporosis centers around the country helping them improve their bone density testing, precision and reporting. Dr. Kohlmeier has been a medical advisor for the exercise programs, Bones and Balance, and Mary Ann Wilson's Sit & Be Fit. She has chaired the Physical Activity Session at the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR) annual meeting, is on the Board for the Advances in Mineral Metabolism (AIMM/ASBMR) meeting and chairs their annual AIMM ski race. Dr Kohlmeier currently practices endocrinology in Spokane, and is involved in several osteoporosis research trials.
Dr. Colleen Carey
Dr. Colleen Carey received her undergraduate degree at Pamona College and her medical degree at the Medical College of Pennsylvania. She was an endocrine fellow at the University of Chicago prior to starting practice in Spokane. She has taught the medical residents and chaired on many committees involved with endocrine care in the hospital and community. She currently practices endocrinology in Spokane, and is involved in several osteoporosis research trials.
