Episode 30: BHOF’s Online Support Community, Hosted by Inspire

An osteoporosis diagnosis can be scary and perhaps overwhelming. Whether you or a loved one has been affected, it can often be an emotional journey that requires a shift in perspective and lifestyle changes. Where do you turn for help? Here at the Bone Health & Osteoporosis Foundation (formerly the National Osteoporosis Foundation), our online support community, hosted by Inspire, is over sixty thousand members strong. In this episode of Bone Talk, we are joined by two of our community volunteer moderators, Pam Flores and Sarah Purcell. Pam and Sarah share some of their own osteoporosis experiences and how the BHOF online peer-to-peer community can help you find answers and support.

Pam Flores is a patient educator and digital health writer who worked for Remedy Health Media on their osteoporosis website from 2008 to 2017. Pam started out with established osteoporosis, which was detected at age 32, and improved her bone mass greatly with an osteoporosis medication, diet, supplements, and exercises.  Pam likes to keep up on new treatments by researching osteoporosis through clinical trials and medical articles and hopes that her work with BHOF’s online community will bring assistance to the newly diagnosed, as well as to patients who are already in the process of finding and implementing treatments for bone loss.

Sarah Purcell’s journey through menopause, and osteoporosis diagnosis in 2016, guided her to support women across the globe with healthy and empowered aging. Sarah is a movement teacher whose work includes Pilates and yoga certifications as well as functional movement and strength training. Sarah leads an online Bone Boot Camp, an at-home strength training program for women with low bone density. Sarah’s passion is to help women like herself who are dealing with a low bone density diagnosis and are seeking natural pathways to live a full and active life.

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• The Bone Health & Osteoporosis Foundation Support Community, Hosted by Inspire

• Pam Flores, HealthCentral Lead Writer

• Sarah Purcell Movement

• Osteoporosis Support Resources

• BHOF Osteoporosis Resource Library

• BHOF Patient Support Information