Published: 01:00 BST, 9 August 2026 | Updated: 10:08 BST, 9 August 2026<\/p>\n
It began with what Harriet Kelsall describes as \u2018a dramatic scene\u2019. The mother-of-two, then 46, was out for a run when she stumbled and hit the pavement hard. \u2018I grazed my knee and there was blood everywhere,\u2019 she says. \u2018Instinctively I\u2019d thrown out my left hand to break the fall \u2013 and that was what really hurt.\u2019<\/p>\n
But finding that she could still move all her fingers, Harriet decided simply to go home. \u2018I used an old wrist support and strapped two fingers together, which was uncomfortable but worked for the time being,\u2019 she says. \u2018But after about two weeks, I realised my hand had gone purple and I thought, this isn\u2019t normal.<\/p>\n
\u2018I went to the doctor and a scan revealed I\u2019d broken two very small bones in my left hand and one in my wrist.\u2019<\/p>\n
Despite this, Harriet considered the whole thing to be mainly an inconvenience. \u2018I was stupid for not seeing a doctor sooner,\u2019 she admits.<\/p>\n
However, after telling friends she\u2019d broken her hand from a simple fall, they encouraged her to have a bone density scan. The results showed she was suffering from osteopenia, a bone-thinning condition that precedes osteoporosis \u2013 a debilitating condition also known as brittle bone disease.<\/p>\n
Affecting some seven million people in the UK, osteopenia causes bones to lose strength but usually has no symptoms, meaning many people have no idea they have it until they break one. Left untreated, it can progress to osteoporosis, which leaves bones so fragile they can fracture after a minor fall or even a cough or sneeze.<\/p>\n
\u2018I\u2019d never heard of osteopenia,\u2019 says jeweller Harriet, now 55. \u2018I knew a little bit about osteoporosis, but thought it was a condition affecting only old people.<\/p>\n
Harriet Kelsall,\u00a0then 46, was out for a run when she stumbled and hit the pavement hard.<\/p>\n
\u2018If it wasn\u2019t for my friends pushing me to go for the bone density scan, I definitely wouldn\u2019t have known I had it.\u2019<\/p>\n
Since her diagnosis, and on her GP\u2019s advice, Harriet has started hormone replacement therapy (HRT), takes a high-dose vitamin D supplement and has overhauled her lifestyle \u2013 all measures proven to help improve or maintain bone density and cut the risk of osteopenia progressing to osteoporosis.<\/p>\n
She now exercises about five times a week \u2013 combining sessions on her Peloton stationary bike, a weekly run and weight training \u2013 while cutting back on refined sugar and increasing her protein intake to support muscle and bone health.<\/p>\n
\u2018I understand now that it\u2019s all about making sure your muscles can support your bones,\u2019 she says.<\/p>\n
\u2018If I do fall over, hopefully my muscles will help protect them.<\/p>\n
\u2018I haven\u2019t had another scan yet to see if my bone density has improved, but I\u2019ve tripped a few times since and been thrown off my paddleboard without breaking anything \u2013 which I\u2019m taking as a good sign.\u2019<\/p>\n