Most of the time, we go to the doctor because something is wrong: a pain here, a tightness there. And when we head into the doctor's office, we want an exact diagnosis. We want to know what exactly is causing our pain.

However, an osteoporosis diagnosis doesn't always follow that model. It can, in fact, be a surprise.

Some people with osteoporosis don't have pain—and therefore don't know that their bones are weakening. Some discover they have osteoporosis while having an exam for something else.

Because an osteoporosis diagnosis can come out of nowhere—sometimes—it can be a frightening thing. You wonder how weak your bones are, which ones are weakest, and if you'll break a bone in the course of running errands. You worry about developing a hunchback if you don't do the right treatments right away.

Suddenly, quite out of the blue, you have a condition, when just the day before, the hour before really, you didn't know that your bones were breaking down.

In this age of information, an out-of-the-blue osteoporosis diagnosis can leave you feeling like you have a lot to learn. And in this age of the Internet, most people then turn to online sources to try to figure out what they have and what the doctor said about it.

SpineUniverse has a thorough section on osteoporosis, but you can find more good information in the Osteoporosis Center on EndocrineWeb. That Center walks you through the difference between osteoporosis and osteopenia, how menopause affects bone strength, and the newest drugs for treating osteoporosis.

The Osteoporosis Center on EndocrineWeb is a trusted source of information, and SpineUniverse recommends it as another good starting point for learning more about your osteoporosis diagnosis.