Bone Health & Menopause

If you’re a woman you need to understand bone health. If you are in your 30’s or 40’s, do yourself a favour and start to get your bones as dense and strong as possible now!

Another Radio Menopause Chat 

Last week I was invited to join the lovely Katherine (Kat) Feeney at ABC Radio Brisbane for another Menopause Conversation. Given there is so much to talk about when it comes to Menopause, we decided to have a focused conversation about ‘Bone Health’.  As most women who need to know this were probably not listening to the radio at 1pm on a Wednesday afternoon, I decided to give you the details here.

The most important part of the conversation was at the start of the segment, as listeners had been invited to call in to share their stories. A couple of ladies shared their experiences. The first, in her 60’s had experienced multiple bone fractures due to osteoporosis (she even sustained 2 fractured ribs from coughing). As an experienced runner, she had switched from running on the road to fell running due to the improved impact it has on her bone growth. She was well supported by her GP and was intentionally maximising her bone health with targeted nutrition and exercise. She had attended a targeted weight-bearing exercise program for women and was prescribed a specific medication for bone health due to her medical history. She shared that her bone-density and bone health was now stable, and she intends to keep on with her fell-running and healthy eating.

The second lady was 73, also with a history of osteoporosis and had attended a targeted exercise program for bone strengthening. Despite having taken medication in the past she was no longer taking it and was following a weight training program, with ‘heavy weights’. It was encouraging and inspiring when she shared that on her latest bone density test the density in her spine has stabilised and the density in her hip has improved. Isn’t that wonderful?

So, as you read on about bone health and what happens to our bones as we transition beyond menopause, please be encouraged by these inspirational ladies. Their examples reflect the growing body of evidence demonstrating that we can improve our bone density as we grow older through targeted exercise and nutrition. I am looking forward to seeing more over 60’s strong women in the gym! 🙂

Now, here are some facts that we discussed during our conversation.

Bone Health & Menopause Facts

• Our bones start to grow before birth and continue to increase in size, strength, and density until our late twenties – early thirties, when we reach our peak bone mass.
• Bones undergo an ongoing process of remodelling. Remodelling entails stripping old or damaged bone cells and replacing them with new bone cells, keeping bone mass consistent. Oestrogen plays a vital role in the remodelling process throughout our childhood and reproductive years.
• Women experience a large drop in Bone Mass Density (BMD) during their menopausal years due to the loss of oestrogen. The loss of oestrogen impacts the remodelling process whereby the removal of old bone cells occurs at a faster rate than the growth of new ones.
• Women will experience an average annual bone loss of 2–3% during the initial peri/menopausal years and 0.5–1% each year thereafter. A woman in perimenopause at aged 45yrs could therefore lose up to 10% of her bone mass by aged 55yrs.
• The drop in bone density can lead to osteoporosis, a severe loss of bone density, making bones susceptible to fragility fractures.
• Menopause is the biggest risk factor for osteoporosis and will affect one-third of postmenopausal women.

Bone Fractures

The most common fractures in post-menopausal women occur in the hip, spine, wrist & arm. Fractures can result in debilitating pain, physical disability, loss of independence, depression, and even premature death (associated with hip fracture in women over 65).

Looking After Our Bones

Whilst some risk factors are not modifiable (age, genetic risk, certain medical conditions), the risk of osteoporosis and/or fragility fractures can be reduced through adopting regular healthy lifestyle behaviours, specifically targeted exercise and nutrition.

Several studies have demonstrated that lifestyle factors can improve bone health and there is a growing body of evidence to demonstrate improvements in bone mass density of post-menopausal women following targeted exercises and nutrition (resulting in improved BMD scores in the spine, hip and femur).

Understanding the implications of osteoporosis is a crucial aspect of healthy living for all women, but especially women in and beyond the menopause transition. Bone Health is one of the fundamental pillars of Healthy in the Middle Health & Wellness Programs. Get in touch if you would like to join the ‘Your Healthy Midlife’ program and start prioritising your health and wellness.