Are You At Risk?

Age-related bone loss occurs silently and without warning. Your bones may not feel weaker, but back pain or a change in posture may indicate that bone loss has occurred.

The outward sign of bone loss is a broken bone. If you’re female, postmenopausal and over 50, then you’re at risk for fracture.

Throughout a women’s life, estrogen exerts a protective effect on bone, but as estrogen levels decline during menopause, bone mass diminishes. Women lose bone mass at a rate of 3 to 5 percent a year in the first five to seven years after menopause. While it may seem that all bone is the same, your skeleton is actually made up of two different types of bone. Cortical bone, found in the long bones of your legs and arms is dense and designed for strength. Trabecular bone, found in your wrists and ankles, can be described as "flexible" and therefore more susceptible to fracture. Most age-related fractures occur in trabecular bone—the bone that makes up your spine.

Spinal fractures can have a gradual onset unrelated to specific injury; however sudden severe back pain can also accompany the fracture. Unfortunately, having just one spinal fracture greatly increases your chances of having another. Multiple fractures can cause a forward curvature of the spine (dowager’s hump) that, over time can “compress” your chest cavity, making it difficult to breathe, walk, eat or sleep properly.

What can you do? A good beginning is to accept the fact that you are at risk for fracture, just by virtue of the fact that you are a woman. Next, schedule a bone mineral density test. Suppress the urge to diagnose yourself and instead report back pain or postural changes to your physician. Only a physical exam, together with an X-ray and MRI, can help determine whether your back pain is from a fracture or not.

Don’t let spinal fractures rob you of your strength and vitality! Take charge of your bone health today.