Hip fracture
Also called: femoral neck fracture
What it means
A hip fracture is a break at the femoral neck, the narrow part of bone connecting the hip joint ball to the thigh bone shaft, often from a fall.
Hip fractures are a serious fragility fracture that can affect mobility and independence, so understanding how the femoral neck is loaded and assessed matters for your bones.
A hip fracture is a break at the femoral neck, the angled area where the ball of the hip joint meets the shaft of the thigh bone. This spot is loaded most during single-leg stance, stair climbing, and lateral movements, while walking on flat ground loads it relatively mildly. That's why just walking isn't a reliable way to keep this area strong — it needs more varied, higher-demand movements to be well supported.
Hip fractures aren't just a concern for women. Roughly a third happen in men, and men actually have higher mortality after a hip fracture than women do. In men, bone health depends heavily on oestradiol made from testosterone, so changes affecting that hormone pathway can matter for the skeleton, including the hip.
Doctors use tools like FRAX, which factors in age, sex, weight, height, prior fractures, family history of hip fracture, and other details, to estimate your 10-year probability of a hip or major osteoporotic fracture. This gives a fuller picture than a bone density score alone. Treatments like bisphosphonates have been shown in large trials to meaningfully reduce hip fracture risk, and hormone therapy was also shown to reduce hip fractures in a general postmenopausal population. Any decisions about starting or adjusting these treatments belong with your prescriber.
How sure is this?
Graded Established Science: Supported by broad scientific consensus and decades of research. Read each study with its grade in mind. One study is a piece of the picture, not the whole of it.
Where the Academy teaches it
This page is the short version. The lessons teach it in full, with the context around it and a quiz to lock it in.
Questions people ask about this
Yes. Men absolutely can get osteoporosis — in fact, roughly a third of all hip fractures happen in men, and men who fracture a hip have higher mortality afterward than women do. The decline is more gradual than the sharp drop women experience at menopause, but it's real and often overlooked.
Read the full answer →Related words
The femoral neck is the angled part of bone joining your hip ball to your thigh bone shaft, and it's the most common…
A fragility fracture is a broken bone caused by a fall or bump that normally wouldn't break a healthy bone, often at…
FRAX is a free online tool that calculates your 10-year probability of having a major osteoporotic fracture or hip…
Bisphosphonates are osteoporosis medications — like alendronate, risedronate, and zoledronic acid — that slow down…
Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) replaces oestrogen, often with a progestin, after menopause and has been shown to…
Fall risk is how likely you are to fall, and it matters because falling—not just weak bones—is the most common cause…
Education only, not medical advice. Decisions about tests, medications and treatment belong with your own doctor. OsteoStrong does not diagnose, treat or cure any disease.
