Healthcare Professionals

No formal clinical guidelines currently exist on the assessment and management of PAO. However, please see our Research page for recommended review articles that provide further information on how to recognise and diagnose PAO, and what is currently known regarding treatment options.

The possibility of PAO should be considered in any woman presenting with back pain during late pregnancy or the postpartum period. In particular, the combination of severe back pain and height loss is strongly predictive of PAO, and is an indication for spinal imaging to look for vertebral fractures.

All women with suspected PAO should be referred urgently to a local specialist osteoporosis / metabolic bone disease clinic for further assessment and management.

For secondary care clinicians, the NHS adult rare bone disease collaborative network provides access to regular multidisciplinary meetings at which (with patient permission) cases of suspected or confirmed PAO can be discussed and management advice sought. These meetings are held remotely via Microsoft Teams.

For further information, and to locate your local meeting, please visit
https://metabolicsupportuk.org/information-and-advice/imd-info-hub/adult-rare-bone-disease-network/information-for-clinicians-adult-rare-bone-disease-network/