Broken bones from being obese?

kthompson601

Hi guys, this has been bothering me for more than 10 years, and I thought this might be the right place to ask:

Has anyone here ever had a fracture solely caused by being overweight?

I've struggled with my weight all my life. My highest weight was 290 pounds; in the last year I've shed 66 pounds through diet and exercise (I spent half of that year stuck on a plateau and have only recently started losing steadily again). Lots of big improvements in my life, and I'm doing much better, glad to be losing the weight and gaining my health.

But I'm haunted by the fact that, at age 18, I broke both my hips. The doctor told me it was because I was a "whale."

At 18, finishing up my senior year of high school, my leg started to hurt. I thought it was a pulled muscle. I didn't have a fall, I wasn't in an accident; I just woke up one morning and it hurt. The pain got worse and worse and I developed a bad limp before finally agreeing to go to the doctor. An x-ray revealed a long fracture at the top of my femur; your femur has a ball that juts out at the top and fits into the socket of your pelvis, forming your hip. This ball was snapping off. I had pins put in. I don't know how much I weighed then; I'd put it at around 200 pounds. My heaviest weight of 290 was last summer.

Six months to the day, the first day of college, I developed pain in the other leg. Same break. Same surgery. Same pins. I broke both my hips as a teenager.

I didn't feel like this is normal, so after bouncing from doctor to doctor, I ended up with an endocrinologist who was supposed to be the best in my state. I thought he would do blood work or scans or something. I wondered if I had some sort of bone mass deficiency--osteoporosis? Cancer? Some weird disease I'd never even imagined? So I went to his office. He took my blood pressure, looked at me, and said, "Why are you here?"

I said, "Because I broke both my hips at age 18."

He said, "Well look at you. You're fat. That's why. If you weren't a whale, you wouldn't have broken your hips. What do you expect?"

It was absolutely devastating. Since then I've avoided the issue entirely. I haven't broken anything else, despite gaining more weight. I do exercise, but only with fast walking, cycling, lots of swimming, and lifting (and limited lifting, mostly upper body). I'm frightened that I'll break something again, so I exercise gingerly. I'll probably never run, I'm too afraid.

This has bothered me for the last decade: the idea that being fat causes you to break your legs. I've really hated myself and been disgusted with myself, and the doctor calling me a whale has had an impact on that. (Needless to say, I also loathe doctors.)

For my own sanity, I really need to know: Does this happen? Has anyone here broken their femur, the strongest bone in the human body, because of their weight? Have you broken any bone and had your doctor say it's because you're a fat *kitten*? Could there being an underlying health issue I don't know about, that I need to have resolved?

I know being overweight can cause a myriad of health issues, but I've never heard it said that it will make you break your legs for no reason. Has this happened to anyone else?

Need2Exerc1se

Two lisenced physicians called you a "whale"?

I have never heard of weight causing broken bones. It sounds more like a vitamin D deficiency or some other condition that could cause brittle bones. I suppose it might be possible for weight to be a factor, especially if your diet was poor and you gained a lot of weight quickly, but no one could tell that my looking at you.

jgnatca

Different bone, but a girlfriend broke a bone in her foot stepping down from a step. Her being overweight likely compounded the issue.

My daughter, a skinny thing, got greenstick fractures in both her arms and shin splints in her legs. She grew faster than her muscles could support her, and she was active.

The lack of sympathy is very unfortunate but your breaks likely were a combination of your growth spurt, not enough muscle support, and being too heavy for your frame.

Maybe this apology will help:
https://www.ted.com/talks/peter_attia_what_if_we_re_wrong_about_diabetes

kthompson601

Need2Exercise, it was one endocrinologist. And yes, he used the term "whale."

Jgnatca, it's interesting you mention growth spurt, because I'm also quite short--just 5' tall, and I've been that height since maybe sixth grade. The pediatrician kept saying I'd hit a growth spurt but never did, I just got heavier from bad eating habits.

usmcmp

I broke my pelvis, but not due to my weight. Although your weight may have contributed to the breaks it's more likely that you had multiple factors contributing to it. There is a correlation between being obese and osteoporosis. Weak bones, extra pressure on them and a minor fracture from something you didn't think was a big deal could have all contributed to your injuries. You should consider seeing a new doctor who is willing to help you look for underlying medical issues.

I went through lots of physical therapy for my pelvis and the VA told me I would need a can to walk within a few years. I found a personal trainer with a Corrective Exercise Specialist certification and he did more to fix me within the first few months than several people with a Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) degree did in years. I can run and do lower body workouts now. I never thought they would be possible.

Need2Exerc1se

Have you seen a doctor since? Your profile says you are 28, so why not just find a doctor that you are comfortable with and discuss this?

kthompson601

Need2Exercise, I have not seen a doctor about this issue since. I do regularly see the dentist and my OBGYN but obviously they aren't a help for that issue.

I haven't tried to pursue it because I got such a run around. My pediatrician sent me to a specialist at the capital, who drew blood but didn't have much else to say, and he bounced me to someone up north (he tested me for Cushing's, which was negative), who sent me to the endocrinologist, who just dismissed me by saying I broke the bones just due to my weight. It took more than a year to reach that conclusion. Since I was in college and working, I gave up trying to find a doctor who would listen to me and do something other than draw blood. Now that it's been 10 years, I am not sure whether I could get help or not. I don't really know where to start, since I was sent to different specialists--started with the pediatrician, then saw an orthopedist, I can't remember what specialty the third guy was, and then finally the endocrinologist.

I just wanted to know, since this is a site for people who are trying to lose weight and become healthier, whether anyone else had broken a bone and had it put down to being overweight. I often see side effects like diabetes, heart problems, sleep apnea, and so on discussed as exacerbated by obesity, but I never read anything about breaking bones as a problem due to weight.

rainbowbow

it's something called osteosarcopenic obesity.

As usm said above "There is a correlation between being obese and osteoporosis. Weak bones, extra pressure on them and a minor fracture from something you didn't think was a big deal could have all contributed to your injuries."

kthompson601

Rainbowbow, I have never heard that term before! Thank you, I will do some research on it.

discretekim

Well I haven't heard of that but I would think a stress fracture could be due to weight. Especially if it had recently gone up. But it seems like you are fine now. You may want to follow up at some point but it doesn't seem like a huge deal to me. Also that's messed up doctors shouldn't talk to people that way.

ManiacalLaugh

200 lbs at 5'0 and you were randomly breaking bones? Yeah, that sounds like something the doctors should've been looking into a little bit further. I have heard of bone problems steming from extra weight - and I've broken some foot bones while working out while overweight (stress fractures), but those are a different story from this. Those stories I've heard about were people who were topping out around 400 - 500lbs and were beyond walking, anyway - and I was tromping on a treadmill for way too long in very bad shoes with way too much extra weight around my waist.

I don't know, but I'd suggest finding another doctor - and as this time around, you're an adult, you need to be your own advocate. They call you a whale and write off the breaks with little to no explaination? Threaten a complaint with the hospital board (if applicable) or do some research to find out what your recourse is.

usmcmp

When I broke my pelvis it wasn't the impact that broke it. I got hit with a log, bounced up and kept running. It was a few minutes later when I stretched my leg out to hook it on a ledge and help pull myself up that the bone snapped. That's why I suggested a minor fracture may have contributed to it. You may have sat down hard a day or two before and the muscles pulled on it enough to cause the fracture to get worse.