Conclusion

Osteoporosis is tomorrow's disease. "As a watchman waits for dawn", so we observe the hours, days, months and years go by. We wait.

What are we waiting for to decide to solve this problem? We hold all the cards already. Defining the populations at risk? We know them. Define osteoporosis? We know it. Detect the risks? We know them. Treat the complications? We know them.

"The elderly don't contribute to society". This is what is often said. Are we so sure? They have experience of life, of their profession; they have professional qualifications which may be useful one day and are sometimes irreplaceable. They can look after children. In any case they have made their contribution to society. Sometimes they have paid a heavy "tribute".

Our duty, our honour, is to acknowledge what we owe them, and through natural generosity, help them to negotiate the final straight under the best possible conditions.

The majority of people live in permanent fear throughout their lives. We do not intend to list the fears and provide statistics – so beloved of technocrats. There is no point in saying that the first of all these is fear of death. But how many other fears have to be overcome along the road!

Fear for one's health, family, profession, relatives, friends, pension. Finally, after overcoming all these trials one way or another, we arrive at the end of the road and the last hurdle is being unable to move around any more. Standing erect, man's first acquisition, must be the last to disappear.

You have to put yourself in the place of someone who has just fractured a hip. You have to know what she is suffering, not only physically, but intellectually, based on the terrible reputation of this fracture. Unfortunately this reputation is still valid today. We must not forget that there are still more than 70% of functional complications.

It has to be stated even more forcefully that this state of mind must change radically. We must affirm that this fracture should no longer have the sinister reputation it still carries. We are no longer in the age of the Gaulois. I can say that the most serious hip fractures can be treated with tremendous technical improvement. The bone stock must be restored on the one hand and the different parts of the fracture held in place on the other.

Today surgeons are in a fairly comfortable position. Because the patient is elderly, everyone waits fatalistically for the inevitable to occur. How many times do we hear "poor soul, she couldn't stand the shock". So, since the family is resigned to it...

No – this behaviour should not be accepted any more. Surgeons have techniques which have proved their efficacy. He will benefit from the gratitude of the fracture patient and the thanks of the family. He can sleep easy, in the knowledge of a good job well done. Isn't that all he wants?

This fracture should disappear forever when intrabone injection of bone substitutes has become a standard procedure, like breathing. This dream is within our grasp. Let's dream together.

TOMORROW'S DREAM
Preventive treatment of trochanter fractures of the femoral neck

Percutaneous injection of natural coral or bone substitutes with the same biological qualities should lead to a reduction or disappearance of hip fractures.

Inadequate theories