The Importance Of Estrogen For Healthy Bones

If you’re a women approaching menopause or if you’re post menopausal, it’s likely you’ve had a conversation with a health care provider about bone health. As women age, the risk for conditions like osteoporosis increases dramatically, and this is not a subject to be taken lightly. A hip fracture in an elderly person carries a 20% one-year mortality rate - meaning many women not only don’t recover from this injury but will actually die within a year of their injury. So why does this happen to women? Can anything be done to maintain healthy bones into our golden years? Let’s talk about it.

The Connection Between Estrogen And Bone Health

As we’ve discussed before, estrogen plays a critical role in almost all of our body systems. When it comes to our skeletal system, it’s important for the growth and maturation of bone as well as bone turnover in adults. This is true for both men and women. We tend to think of bones as a fixed part of the body, only changing if they were to incur a fracture. But that’s actually not true. Our bones are always in a state of remodeling. Older bone cells are absorbed by cells called osteoclasts and replaced by new ones with the help of osteoblasts. The balance of this process is extremely important, and that is where estrogen and progesterone come in. Simply put, estrogen and progesterone are key to regulating proper bone metabolism (out with the old, and in with the new). When we don’t replace enough of the cells, bone loss and porous bones can ensue. With this understanding, it is no surprise that the dramatic drop in estrogen and progesterone levels women experience in perimenopause and menopause can wreak havoc on women's bone health. Men, on the other hand, have a more gradual decline in their hormone levels. This fact, combined with the advantage of having larger skeletal mass from the start, largely protects them from these issues. Still, men can and do get osteoporosis.

Replace Estrogen, Lower The Risk

While direct osteoporosis treatments do exist, we actually have found that getting ahead of the issue with hormone replacement therapy can be very effective. By avoiding the dramatic drop in estrogen and progesterone, the body can continue to balance bone metabolism on its own, the way it did when you were younger. In addition, bHRT offers many other benefits that can help you feel more like yourself. To learn more about hormone replacement therapy and how it can help keep your bones healthy, schedule an appointment with us.