Snap Exhibition The Snap Exhibition was selected by the city of Geneva in Swizterland to be exhibited open air by the lake on Quai Wilson. The project, developed by IOF photographer Gilberto Lontro, has been very well accepted around the world in a book form, traveling exhibition and online at www.iofsnap.org. Video Transcription Snap! is really exciting. It’s a venture of the IOF in collaboration with all our national societies to try and highlight the burden associated with spinal osteoporosis, which is one of the most devastating and important features of osteoporosis. What’s happened is that we’ve had the opportunity to contact patients, sometimes to enter into their lives and their homes, take photographs and try and illustrate in a visual way the burden of spinal osteoporosis. Spinal fracture is a really common fracture. It’s one of the common sites…

The struggles with osteoporosis are all too known with Dr. Youssef Eid al-Hawamdeh, a 59-year-old pharmacist, but he can consider himself to be a fortunate man. Despite suffering vertebral fractures in a fall at age 55, he has been able to resume his regular daily routine with no long-term impact on his quality of life. “I will never allow osteoporosis to change my life,” he says. Unlike many sufferers, Youssef has not gone on to experience further fractures and the terrible impact of what is termed the ‘fracture cascade’. This positive outcome can be attributed in part to the prompt diagnosis and osteoporosis treatment that he received following the accident. Suffering severe pain and bruising, Youssef was immediately admitted to hospital for three days where he underwent extensive testing. Testing revealed that he had suffered a vertebral crush fracture and…

Eva Benedicta Saraiva, 77, lives in the Botafogo neighbourhood of Rio de Janeiro. Eva was diagnosed with osteoporosis over a year ago, following a hip fracture. Not long after the hip fracture, she suffered a spinal fracture which was extremely painful and greatly reduced her mobility for some time. Despite the serious situation, Eva did not give up. She found a specialized clinic where she was diagnosed and able to benefit from a targeted physiotherapy programme which helped immensely in her recovery. She currently has a doctor who monitors her osteoporosis treatment which includes calcium and vitamin D supplementation. Like many older people, Eva must also take medication for other health problems, including high blood pressure, anaemia and a thyroid disorder. With great perseverance and willpower, Eva is able to carry out many of her routine daily activities – she…

Watch this true story about the struggles of osteoporosis Video Transcription Hi, my name is Salima Ladak Kachra. I’m 40 years old. I’m from Canada. I was diagnosed with osteoporosis at the young age of 25 after fracturing four bones in my thoracic spine from a fall. Before I fractured I was very independent and being able to do things that we take for granted like doing the laundry, doing the bed, doing groceries. Once I fractured it was really, really hard for me to do things like what I talked about. Now my husband and my children help me do these things. My kids help me do the bed. They help me pick up clutter on the floor because I’m really scared of falling again. When I fractured, it was really hard that first year just trying to become…

Joan Rivers explains why you should talk to your doctor about osteoporosis Video Transcription Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be a candidate for osteoporosis. I know. I know now, I should have paid more attention to my personal risk factors. I should have taken better care of my bones. And you know what? So should you. So come on. Beat the break. Take responsibility for your bones, and just talk to your doctor about osteoporosis. Tell him Joan Rivers said please tell you about bone health. It’s so easy. You’ll be glad you did.

What would possess a fifty-something mom and her daughter to bike all the way across America? According to Marybeth Bond, “We’re Shrinking! When I realized this a few years ago I compared notes with my sisters and mother; we discovered that between us we’ve lost six inches due to osteoporosis. I don’t want my daughters to have the same problem.” “Recently I learned that girls acquire 85-90% of their bone mass by age 18. During this period in their lives my daughters lived at home and I made breakfast and dinner every day. I was responsible for their diets and I wish I had known more about regular exercise and bone-bolstering foods.” Follow these women as they pedal across America in an all-female campaign to bring awareness to the silent disease osteoporosis which runs in our family and affects millions…