Fragility Fractures

Osteoporosis is a major cause of morbidity and fragility fractures in postmenopausal women. Bone mineral density (BMD) alone may not fully reflect fracture risk and skeletal fragility. Lumican, an extracellular matrix proteoglycan involved in collagen organization and musculoskeletal tissue homeostasis, has emerged as a potential biomarker for bone health. This prospective observational study aims to investigate the relationship between serum lumican levels, bone mineral density, muscle strength, and clinical fragility indicators in postmenopausal women. Approximately 100 participants will undergo routine osteoporosis assessment including DEXA, laboratory testing, FRAX evaluation, and handgrip strength measurement. The study will evaluate whether serum lumican levels can identify a hidden fragility phenotype beyond conventional bone mineral density measurements.

Fragility fractures, also known as osteoporotic fractures, are fractures that occur as a result of low-energy trauma or minor impact. They are the most serious complication of osteoporosis and are common bone diseases in the elderly. With our country gradually entering the aging society, the incidence of brittle fracture is increasing year by year, most often in the hip. Hip fracture refers to femoral neck, intertrochanteric and subtrochanteric fractures. Due to a series of complications caused by old age, weak body, many underlying diseases, significant decline in self-care ability and other reasons, it is also known as the last fracture in life. According to reports, within 1 year after hip fracture, only 30% of patients can recover to the functional state before fracture, 20% of patients will fracture again, and even cause lifelong disability, seriously affecting the long-term quality of life of patients, the reason may be related to the long course of disease, slow recovery, postoperative nutrition, rehabilitation exercise compliance, self-care ability decline and many other aspects. The fracture liaison service (FLS) is a nurse-centric, multidisciplinary approach to managing osteoporotic fractures that consists of three key elements: The core of identifying patients with fracture risk, assessing fall risk and initiating treatment to prevent refracture is to hire specialized coordinators to link emergency, orthopedics, rehabilitation, nutrition and other departments with community and family services to provide standardized management services for patients, reduce the incidence of refracture and promote the recovery of joint function of patients. Therefore, this study integrates FLS with "Internet + nursing service" and utilizes the advantages of "Internet + nursing service" in informatization to emphasize the risk assessment of re-fracture of patients at home after discharge, home health guidance (such as fall prevention, rehabilitation training and other related knowledge), online consultation of multidisciplinary teams, offline on-site service, etc., so that patients can be discharged from hospital. Access to ongoing medical care reduces the incidence of complications and promotes rapid recovery.