There are many causes of bone fractures. These include:

• Trauma. Injuries, such as those sustained in a car wreck, sports or a fall from a ladder, account for most fractures.
  
  
• Osteoporosis. A disease that results in the loss of bone density. It most often affects women after menopause but is also common in elderly men. Osteoporosis leaves the bone fragile and susceptible to breaks. Hip fractures, which may result in severe pain in the hip or groin, are a common and dangerous type of fracture associated with osteoporosis.
  
  
• Other bone disorders. These less-common conditions include:
  
  

  • Bone tumors such as osteosarcoma
    
    
  • Paget’s disease, a metabolic disease that involve abnormal breakdown and regrowth of bone.
    
    
  • Osteomalacia, a condition in which the bones soften because of a lack of vitamin D or difficulty metabolizing this vitamin. In children this disease is known as rickets.
    
    
  • Osteogenesis imperfecta, an inherited disease that causes extremely fragile bones.
    
    
• Overuse. Putting too much stress on bone can result in stress fractures, which are tiny cracks in the bone. Such injuries are common among athletes and tend to appear most often in the lower leg or foot.
  
  

Other conditions that may increase the incidence of fractures include:

• Systemic lupus erythematosus. Lupus dramatically increases the risk of osteoporosis.
  
  
• Rheumatoid arthritis. These patients also are prone to osteoporosis.
  
  
• Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis and other forms of juvenile arthritis. Physical inactivity, inflammation, delayed puberty and inadequate nutrition may help explain these patients’ elevated risk of broken bones in adolescence and beyond.
  
  
• Sickle cell anemia. This inherited blood disease can cause necrosis (tissue death) in shoulder or hip joints, which may require treatment with arthroplasty.
  
  
• Diabetes. Diabetic patients have been found to have higher rates of falls and hip fractures than nondiabetics.
  
  
• Male hypogonadism (testosterone insufficiency). Low levels of testosterone, a common condition in middle-aged and elderly men, can weaken bones.
  

In addition, people can experience dizziness due to conditions such as vertigo or orthostatic hypotension (a drop in blood pressure when moving from sitting to standing) or medications such as antihypertensives, anesthetics or some birth control pills. These individuals are advised to take precautions against fainting and falls.

Some medical treatments can increase the risk of osteoporotic fractures. They may include radiation therapy to the pelvic area, use of corticosteroids (taken for a wide range of conditions, from herniated discs to carpal tunnel syndrome to asthma), hormone therapy for prostate cancer, and possibly use of certain anticoagulants.