Spinal osteoporosis. Coloured X-ray of the spine of a 79-year-old female patient with osteoporosis. The front of the body is at right. Several vertebrae (spinal bones) have collapsed (crush fractures, yellow) due to the effects of osteoporosis (particularly vertebrae T8/9/10/11). The effect of these collapses is a spinal curvature, causing the patient to have a hunched back. Osteoporosis is a decrease in bone density due to loss of bone material. It is mostly seen in the elderly and menopausal women. Surgical intervention can stabilise the spine to prevent or slow further degeneration. Osteoarthritis (loss of cartilage at the joints between bones) is also evident.