Just remember -- hip guards and padding won't prevent fractures. They'll make your fall hurt a little less, but the force of a fall that will break an osteopenic femur will still break it through the padding. Just like wrist guards for rollerblading -- they don't decrease incidence of fracture, they just prevent palmar road rash and cause the true break to occur further up your arm.

We participate in a non-weight-bearing sport. It doesn't help us maintain our bone density. We need to do weight-bearing exercise as well for maximum bone health (in addition to calcium, vitamin D, folate to keep homocysteine in check, figuring out our hormones and using bisphosphonates like Actonel when appropriate)!