What do an Olympic hero and a Melbourne grandmother have in common?

They both know the extreme pain and fear that comes with breaking bones and how crucial it is for people to get the right treatment.

Getting more people to brush up on their bone health is the cause uniting hurdling hero Sally Pearson and osteoporosis sufferer Elaine Cotter, 61, as they secured more funding for bone disease prevention.

Ms Cotter was finally diagnosed with osteoporosis after three years of missed signs by six different doctors, despite getting severe back pain in her early fifties without ever falling over.

"With certain movements around the house like picking up a sock off the floor or twisting to get something in the kitchen, it would disable me," the grandmother told AAP.

"I just kept on going around on this rollercoaster of pain."

Having a "bone explosion" after a race in Rome in 2015, Pearson knows how a fracture can impact doing some of the most basic things in life.

"I remember that fear I had when I broke my wrist and not wanting to go near anyone, not wanting to go outside," the Olympic gold medallist told AAP.

"It's the mental impact these fractures can have on people just made me realise how important our bone health prevention is as well."

The federal government announced an extra $700,000 in funding for Healthy Bones Australia Month on Monday, including a Bone Bus conducting bone density checks in regional areas.

Spreading awareness to doctors is just as critical, with many not referring enough patients for checks which can prevent osteoporosis and debilitating fractures in later life.

But while increasing medical awareness is still a work in progress, there's one step everyone can take to help keep their skeleton in good shape.

The Know Your Bones self-assessment tool can help identify if there are issues you should bring up with a doctor and while everyone can be susceptible to poor bone health, women of menopausal age should be extra vigilant.

"You can fracture just by coughing or sneezing, something very mundane," Ms Cotter said.

"If your bones are really weak ... you start falling apart basically."