The most common cause of fractures in the elderly is falling, usually from standing height, and falling is the leading cause of hospitalisation due to accidental injury, with significant risk of death in the following year due to complications [1]. Low bone density due to osteoporosis or osteopenia means that falls easily result in fractures, even when the fall dynamics are relatively mild, as discussed in Chap. 1. These are often referred to as ‘fragility’, ‘osteoporotic’ or ‘minimal trauma’ fractures and most commonly occur in those over the age of 50 years [2], the same population at risk of osteoporosis.
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