Can osteoporosis medicines hurt your bones?

A very rare complication of bisphosphonates and denosumab is a break or crack in the middle of the thighbone. This injury, known as atypical femoral fracture, can cause pain in the thigh or groin that begins subtly and may gradually worsen.

Bisphosphonates and denosumab also can cause osteonecrosis of the jaw. This is a rare condition in which a section of jawbone is slow to heal or fails to heal, often after a tooth is pulled or other invasive dental work. This happens more commonly in people with cancer that involves the bone as they may take much larger doses of a bisphosphonate than those typically used for osteoporosis.