Is chronic pain a symptom of both osteoporosis and osteoarthritis?
Osteoporosis is a silent disease that generally does not cause pain unless a fracture has occurred. In the spine, multiple fractures can occur without symptoms until a deformity of the chest cavity results from substantial changes in the shape of one or more vertebrae. Chronic back pain can then occur. Hip pain from osteoporosis only occurs following hip fracture. On the other hand, the clinical hallmark of osteoarthritis is pain and deformity of the affected joints.
