A Review of Potential Therapies to Attenuate Bone Mineral Density Loss in Obese Individuals Prior to Total Joint Replacement Surgery

The focus of this review is to examine therapeutic interventions which may be used to increase bone mineral density (BMD), reduce bone loss, and ultimately reduce complications in obese patients prior to total joint replacement (TJR). It is recommended that obese patients lose weight prior to surgery to reduce post-surgical complications, but weight loss can also increase bone loss and fracture risk in older individuals. In this review, we investigate potential therapies to improve bone density and reduce bone loss including exercise therapy, parathyroid hormone (PTH), estrogen, bisphosphonate, and calcitonin treatment in obese patients prior to TJR. Our review of existing literature found that treatment with PTH increased total body BMD in both men and women with osteoporosis; exercise therapy in combination with weight loss prevents the weight loss-induced increase in bone turnover and attenuates the weight loss-induced decrease in BMD; and estrogen, bisphosphonate, and calcitonin reduce bone resorption.