“YOUR BONES”: Woman High Risk!

“YOUR BONES”: Woman High Risk!

Published May 16, 2012

Did you know that because I am a woman I am at high risk for osteoporosis and so are all women.  But men are not exempt.

Osteoporsis is where your bones become porous and are easy to become fractured while doing your daily and usual activities like stepping down your front step.  You can also experance these fragility fractures in wrist, ribs, spine, and hip.

As a woman I am at higher risk for osteoporosis for two reasons:  First , I started out with less bone mass than my husband.  Because I am naturally smallar, my peak bone mass is less than his as well as having less muscle.  Men’s muscles produce stronger contractions resulting in more stress and about 35-40% larger bones. 

Secondly, the female hormones, estrogen and progesteron, have a vital roes in bone remodeling , and levels of both hormones drop with menopause; for most women in the Western world the average age for menopause is 51, but the onset is a wide range–generally between 42 and 58.