It took a severe wrist injury during a race for Olympic champion hurdler Sally Pearson to completely shift her perspective on bone health.
The gold-medallist hurdler said the horror incident at Italy's Golden Gala event in 2015 left significant mental scars.
"I absolutely shattered my wrist ... the doctor at the time said it was like a bone explosion," she told AAP.
"I had almost a fear of anyone coming near me, I was so fearful of anyone touching my arm, so it was really important to understand the confidence to get back out and not being scared of hurting myself and anyone hurting me."
Ms Pearson, who is now a Healthy Bones Australia ambassador, said it took that degree of confidence to re-enter the sport she loved after a string of injuries.
"This was the most important thing to be able to get back into exercise again, to get back into exercise again, to get back on track. It really took over my life mentally," she said.
Two-thirds of Australians aged over 50 have poor bone health with the number living with osteoporosis soaring in the past decade.
Key findings from Healthy Bones Australia's national burden of disease report will delivered at Parliament House in Canberra on Thursday.
This will include detail on Australians' bone health projections and the need for action from policymakers, medics and the wider community.
More than three quarters of older Australians have osteopenia, or low bone density, and 23 per cent have osteoporosis.
In the past decade 6.2 million, or 67 per cent, of Australians over 50 are living with poor bone health - a 34 per cent increase from the 2012 report.
This is projected to increase to 7.7 million living with osteopenia, or osteoporosis by 2033.
Head of medicine at Monash University and Healthy Bones Australia chair Peter R Ebeling said the country's rapidly ageing population was partially behind the soaring figures.
"There are more people in those older age groups, but also, perhaps because people aren't as physically active as they were previously or they have poor calcium or low vitamin D levels," he said.
"All of these things can contribute, as well as the menopause in women, of course."
Professor Ebeling said progressive resistance training was an important part of staving off bone density issues, along with a nutrient-packed diet.
Central Coast woman Carole was hit with an osteoporosis diagnosis in 2004 despite experiencing few symptoms.
"I've always maintained such a healthy, active life - I have been fit. So it was shocking to receive the results," she said.
She said all adults should be across bone density tests and early intervention could ease the condition's symptoms before they worsen.
The total cost of osteopenia and osteoporosis equated to $4.8 billion in 2023, and is estimated to climb over the coming decade to $8.3 billion in 2033.
