If you are unable to work because of Osteoporosis you may be able to make a TPD claim for a lump sum from the Total & Permanent Disablement insurance contained within your superannuation fund. There is no necessity for you to have been involved in an accident or to have suffered a work related injury to make a TPD claim. If you suffer from total and permanent disability, you may be able to make an oateoporosis TPD claim in addition to receiving your super early as a result of your condition. Our TPD claim solicitors can advise you in detail as to the requirements of a successful submission, they will prepare all relevant paperwork and will obtain full supporting documentation. Our TPD lawyers will give you advice on the likely success of your claim to a super fund, without further obligation. It costs nothing to use our advice service.

Our TPD claim solicitors use a risk free no win no fee arrangement.

We have offices situated in Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney and Darwin.

Osteoporosis - TPD

Osteoporosis is a condition where the bones of the body become brittle and weak. They become so brittle that moving the wrong way or falling can break the bones. Even a cough can break the spinal column or the ribs. It is a result of low mineral content in the body, such as low phosphate or low calcium. Common places for fractures from osteoporosis include the hip, spine or wrist. It primarily affects women after menopause but can occur in men as well. The end result of osteoporosis is low bone density, which puts a person at risk for fracture of the bone.

There are no symptoms in early osteoporosis. If the osteoporosis becomes severe, you can get debilitating back pain, a loss of height, a stooped posture, called kyphosis, and fractures, even without a pre-existing fall.

The cause of osteoporosis is poor intake of calcium and phosphorus in a person’s twenties and early thirties. This is when bone mass is mostly developed and you tend to gradually lose bone mass after that unless you consume enough calcium, in which you can retain your bone mass. The higher your peak bone mass in young adulthood, the lower is your risk of getting osteoporosis later in life. The thinner the bones you have, such as being of slighter build, the less likely it is that you have enough bone reserves to stave off osteoporosis. Hormone levels also affect bone density. When the oestrogen levels go down at menopause, there is a dramatic loss of bone mass that can contribute to getting osteoporosis. In men, low testosterone levels can cause osteoporosis to develop.

There are risk factors for osteoporosis that can be changed by better health behaviors. These include not smoking, eating more calcium, not having an eating disorder (which can contribute to osteoporosis), not having a sedentary lifestyle, and not drinking too much. If you take corticosteroid medications, your bones will become thinner and you will be at an increased risk of fracture. Aromatase inhibitors used to treat breast cancer and medications for cancer can cause osteoporosis. Even serotonin re-uptake inhibitors or SSRIs used for depression can cause osteoporosis.

The things related to osteoporosis that cannot be changed include being female, which doubles your risk of osteoporosis, being of an older age, being white or being of an Asian descent, and having a family history of osteoporosis. You cannot also change your frame size, which plays a role in getting osteoporosis. Small framed individuals have a higher than average risk of getting osteoporosis. If you have hyperthyroidism, your bones metabolize too much and become thinner. If you are taking too much thyroid hormone for a situation of low thyroid, you can get osteoporosis. A gastrectomy can contribute to getting osteoporosis and those having weight loss surgery will have a greater risk for osteoporosis. If you have hypoparathyroidism or Cushing’s disease, you can thin your bones more readily.

Doctors can tell if you have a decrease in bone density by doing a dual energy x-ray absorptiometry or Dexa scan. This shows the density of the bones in the spine, wrist and hip, the most common places to show the disease. An ultrasound of the bone can be done and a CT scan of bone can show the disease as well.

Medications can be used to treat osteoporosis. Bisphosphonates are the most commonly used drugs to treat osteoporosis. These include Fosamax, Boniva, Actonel and Reclast. They can be given daily, monthly or less often than that to improve bone density. These medications are used to treat osteoporosis identified by Dexa scan or to prevent osteoporosis caused by the taking of steroid medications like prednisone. Side effects include abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting, problems swallowing and ulcers of the oesophagus.

Selective estrogen receptor modulators or SERMs like Evista (Raloxifene) can be used to improve bone mass in women, but there is an added risk of uterine or breast cancer in some women. Hot flashes are common with this class of medications but they tend to decrease over time. Blood clots are also possible side effects of SERMs.

Calcitonin is a hormone that puts calcium into the bones and is produced by the thyroid gland. Exogenous calcitonin can be given to women to slow bone loss. It seems to be able to prevent spinal fractures and improves pain from spinal osteoporosis.

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