5 Ways to Ease Your Perimenopause and Menopause Symptoms
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Osteoporosis Screening: What You Need to Know to Protect Your Bones
While men and women may share much of the same bone structure, not all bones are equal, especially as we age. The reality is that gender plays a big role in bone density issues like osteoporosis. In fact, of the 10 million Americans with osteoporosis, 8 million (or 80%) are women.
More alarming is the reality that half of women over the age of 50 will break a bone due to low bone density and osteoporosis. Unfortunately, many of these women are unaware of their risks, which is where bone density screening is valuable.
As a board-certified gynecologist and a Menopause Society Certified Practitioner (MSCP), Dr. Karen F. Brodman is all too familiar with bone loss in women, especially as they age and pass through menopause. To stay one step ahead of this loss, we often recommend screening, which we explore in this article.
Bone loss and menopause
There are a few reasons why women are more prone to bone loss after the age of 50. First, women have naturally smaller and less dense bones than men.
Second, as you get older, your body struggles to make enough new bone to account for natural bone loss, leaving you with an increasing deficit.
Lastly, menopause can really kick bone loss into high gear. In fact, about 20% of bone loss occurs during and after this hormonal transition.
Staying on top of your bone health through screening
Unfortunately, many women only find out that they have low bone density or osteoporosis after a bone breaks. We want to correct this.
Screening for bone density is done with a radiology test called a dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scan. During your DEXA scan, you’ll lie on an X-ray table while the technician takes some pictures, mainly of the bones in your hips and spine. The test is painless and easy.
The US Preventive Services Task Force recommends that most women get their first DEXA at age 65, but significant bone loss during the menopause transition means that age 65 is too late for most women to do their initial DEXA screen.
As a Menopause Specialist, Dr. Karen Brodman is proactive in ordering DEXA scans for her patients during their menopause transition. Once she receives the results, she will review them with you.
Moving forward to protect your bone health
While a DXA scan can’t prevent fractures, it can let us know whether there’s bone loss and to what extent, which is important information. From there, we can discuss preventive treatments that will help you avoid life-changing fractures. From medications to lifestyle changes, there are some great strategies for protecting aging bones.
We may also continue with regular scans to monitor your bone health, which allows you to stay one step ahead of osteoporosis.
To explore whether you should be monitoring your bone health more closely through osteoporosis screenings, please contact us to schedule an appointment with Dr. Brodman at your earliest convenience. Our office is located on the Upper West Side of New York City.
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