Menopause and Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis and other Symptoms of Menopause can be the most trying time in a women's life.
Menopause marks the onset in a woman’s life when her ovaries no longer are producing estrogen and progesterone. It is a crucial time that encompasses many changes within a woman. It also marks a time where the onset of osteoporosis can begin to occur if a woman does not take and has not taken adequate prevention steps.
Keep in mind, even though prevention steps may have been taken, because of other risk factors, primarily heredity, osteoporosis can still strike even the most prepared. With no single cause known to result in osteoporosis, the best you can do is to stay informed and do what you can do to prevent this often time debilitating disease. Let’s look at some statistics in regard to menopause and osteoporosis.
It is a widely known and accepted fact that menopausal and postmenopausal women are more likely to contract osteoporosis than men or women in other cycles of their lives. One thing this knowledge means is that this group of women is more likely to break their wrists, hips and backbones. Because of the drop in estrogen in menopause, bone loss occurs. This makes bones more brittle, weak and less dense. Thus more bone breaks and fractures. Fact: during the first five years after menopause, a woman loses 3 to 5 percent of her bone mass a year. After five years, she loses between 1 and 2 percent of bone mass yearly.
Since bone loss is the primary problem associated with menopause, let’s look at some tips to avoid bone loss.
Keep active now and into menopause -Walking is not sufficient; it targets the feet, ankles and legs, not your hips, spine and wrists. According to the U.S. Surgeon General: "The evidence suggests that the most beneficial activity regimens for bone health include strength-training or resistance-training activities. These activities place levels of loading on bone that are beyond those seen in everyday activities."
Source: Bone Health and Osteoporosis: A Report of the Surgeon General, Feb. 2007
Provide yourself with adequate and proper nutrition - This means maintain plenty of calcium in your diet. Don’t let yourself live on sodas and doughnuts. If you are thin, it doesn’t necessarily mean you are eating properly. Educate yourself and ingest proper and adequate foods and liquids.
Take vitamin and mineral supplements - During this period in your life, especially you want to take calcium, vitamin D and magnesium vitamin and mineral supplements.
Avoid smoking and excessive alcohol drinking- Both smoking and alcohol consumption impair calcium absorption and inhibit the growth of bone-building cells.
Add soy foods to your diet - Soy foods contain plant estrogen that helps bone-building (osteoblasts) cells.
Have a dexa scan - A dexa scan is a painless, inexpensive and simple
scanning test that measures extremely accurately your bone mineral density. This
will help your doctor provide you with correct medications and vitamin and
mineral dosage information. Below are a couple of example scans with
explanations below for you to look at and have an idea of what to expect to see
from your test:
Dexa scan of a femur/hip bone Dexa scan of a lumbar spine
Explanation: The white areas represent bone and bone density; thus the whiter the area in the images, the higher the bone density. This clearly will give you and your doctor an accurate measurement of your bone mineral density.
Source: General Electric Healthcare
Ask for a copy of your bone mineral test - Usually you will have more than one of these scans in your lifetime. Having this information and keeping a chart of your own progress will help you keep you motivated and encouraged about your health situation.
Although none of the above means you will not fall victim to osteoporosis they do provide guidelines to follow, particular in regard to menopause and osteoporosis.
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