'I suffer from epidemic like 3million others, but no-one talks about it' (2025)

Sara, a mother-of-three, was only in her 50s at the time of diagnosis

When Sara Selvarajah fell down a flight of stairs, she thought she might have cracked a rib. But a routine check-up revealed something far more serious and led to a diagnosis which was to change her life. “I didn’t go to see my GP for my ribs, to be honest,” the 65-year-old says: “I went for a regular check-up, and she asked me if I'd broken anything. When I mentioned my fall, she sent me for a bone density scan.

“I was not expecting to discover from that scan that I had osteoporosis which required medication to manage the risk of more serious fractures. I just felt fragile and old.”

More than three million people in the UK have osteoporosis, a brittle bone condition frequently viewed as a silent epidemic. Women are more at risk than men because of hormone changes at menopause and many do not realise there is a problem until they break a bone

While medication can help, it can come with side effects ranging from cramps and stomach pain to an increased risk of potentially life-threatening blood clots.

Sara, a mother-of-three, was only in her 50s at the time of diagnosis and hesitant to start on long-term medication. She began investigating other options, increased her calcium and vitamin D intake and did high impact exercises such as running and skipping to try to improve bone strength.

And though her bone density initially stabilised, a routine scan discovered a significant deterioration in her bone mass.

“Despite all my efforts with diet and exercise there had been a dramatic fall in bone density which significantly increased my risk of a critical spinal fracture,” she recalls. “There are some very scary statistics about what your life looks like if you have a serious osteoporotic spinal fracture.

“I just felt that so many of my normal activities could result in a life-changing injury - if I fell or moved a weight without thinking. It's very hard not to be afraid of living the life you envisaged when you are told that it might end in chronic pain and disability.”

Sara’s consultant had been supportive of her decision to avoid medication but at this point advised that it was the best option.

But she still felt a pull towards taking control of her body without drugs and began to investigate the benefits of weight training. “I understand that osteoporosis medication is effective and taken by many thousands of people, but for me it was a choice I wanted to defer for as long as possible.

“I just felt too young for it in my early 60s. Weight training was the only intervention that I had not explored seriously. There's a lot of research in the US about weight training, and I drilled into all of that.”

Sara, who splits her time between London and Oxford, approached weight training with caution as her bones were fragile. After interviewing “what felt like every personal trainer in London”, she discovered Ultimate Performance – a specialist gym and personal training service.

Their clients include Strictly Come Dancing contestant Gemma Atkinson, Top Gun: Maverick actor Glenn Powell, and Oscar winner Olivia Colman.

“I needed somebody who understood that I had an older body that was fragile, with historic injuries,” Sara explains. “I needed somebody who was technically knowledgeable, who understood the human body, was also a serious PT and who could apply all of that to someone like me.

Under the watchful eye of her trainer, Lewis Gaffney – who designed and supervised a training programme and was on hand to correct form and ensure weights were lifted correctly – Sara saw her weight drop by 5kg.

She also changed her body shape and composition, reducing body fat and increasing lean muscle mass She became stronger and remarkably, improved her skeletal integrity.

“I had a routine scan that coincided with my first five months of training and my consultant, an Oxford professor, could not believe the results,” Sara beams. “He asked, ‘What have you been doing? I've never seen anything like it.’

“Essentially, I had managed to reverse the progress of my osteoporosis and significantly reduced my risk of a spinal fracture. The consultant was very clear, he attributed the reversal wholly to five months of weight training.

“A change I had not achieved after years of committed diet and impact exercise. He said I could defer the medication, ‘You could keep reversing your risk if you continue with this programme. Come back to me in two years and we’ll see how you’ve managed.’ I felt like I'd won his gold star!”

Sara has been training at Ultimate Performance since October 2023 – and while she did not start her journey with the intention of losing weight, she has noticed this as a positive outcome from her exercise regime.

“My friends have arm envy because I can wear sleeveless,” she laughs. “But really we should all be weight training for the life outcomes – stronger bodies inside and out.”

Sara says she feels and looks younger, and has been encouraged on her journey by her husband of 42 years, her three sons and their partners.

However, the aspect of her exercise she values most is the change that people can't see – the improvement in her bones and strength.

“Do I feel a certain age?” she asks, “No. I just feel like I've got my future back. I can make plans again to live an active life with family, friends and travel. I can lift my own luggage, run up and down stairs, hike over the Fells and run around the park dodging the dog walkers and small children.

“I understand that everyone loses 1% of bone density on average per annum once we get to a certain age, and osteoporosis can affect people of all ages, but typically it affects older people and more specifically older women.

“But my personal view is there is not enough education for younger women. We are told about cholesterol and blood pressure and how important it is to prevent disease and have a healthy lifestyle.

“You can build bone density before you get to 30 with weight training and that creates a higher base density for the later years when your density falls. Once you have osteoporosis it’s very difficult to reverse it.

“It would be so much better if we could prevent or at least delay the onset of this disabling condition and education could really help.”