If you’re postmenopausal and just learned you have osteoporosis, you’re far from alone. Osteoporosis affects nearly 20 percent of women ages 50 and up in the United States. And by age 65, as many as 1 in 4 women have osteoporosis.

There are a few reasons for this. As we age, our bodies generally have a harder time producing bone. Also, estrogen helps protect bone density, and there’s a big drop in estrogen after menopause, which typically begins between ages 45 and 55.

While common, postmenopausal osteoporosis can cause serious health effects. Weakened bones can easily fracture and break, leading to mobility challenges, reduced quality of life, and potentially death.

But there are steps you can take to strengthen your bones and slow the progression of this disease.

With that in mind, here are some things to ask your doctor about postmenopausal osteoporosis.

Hormone therapy with estrogen alone or with estrogen plus progesterone is often used to ease symptoms of menopause, but it can also help prevent bone density loss.

It’s not for everyone, though. Hormone therapies may raise the risk of:

To see if hormone therapy is right for you, talk with a doctor. They can provide an individual assessment of your health and explain the risks and benefits of this treatment.

There’s no single management plan for osteoporosis, so it’s worth exploring a variety of strategies to protect your bones and minimize the progression of this disease. Here are some ways to improve your bone health:

Your doctor may also provide other strategies for reducing the effects of osteoporosis based on factors such as your:

While staying active is an important part of overall health, certain activities may not be safe if your bones are weak. Those with low bone mass should typically avoid moves that flex, bend, or twist the spine. High-impact exercises can also increase the risk of breaking a bone.

That doesn’t mean you should avoid exercise altogether, though. Weight-bearing and muscle-strengthening exercises in particular play an important role in building and maintaining bone density.

And activities such as yoga or tai chi may help improve balance, which can lower the risk of injury due to falling.

While some activities may be off-limits if you have osteoporosis, others can be done safely with some modifications. For example, you may be to continue hiking by using trekking poles or a walking stick to say balanced and avoiding steep mountain trails.

Talk with your doctor about the do’s and don’ts of exercising with postmenopausal osteoporosis and ways to stay safe during your workouts.

Your doctor can advise on whether you would benefit from an assistive device, such as a cane or walker, that can help you stay stable and avoid falls.

If they’re medically necessary and you have a prescription, these devices may even be partially covered by Medicare or your insurance.

Ask for information on other ways to lower risk, such as:

Other aspects of your health, such as medications you’re taking and any other conditions you’re managing, could affect your bone health.

Make sure your doctor is aware of conditions you have that may affect the skeleton, such as:

It’s also important to discuss your current medications with a health professional to see if they’re affecting your osteoporosis. Some drugs that can cause bone loss include:

While there’s no cure for osteoporosis, a variety of treatments can help protect and strengthen your bones. These include:

The best treatment for you depends on a variety of factors, such as your bone density test results, risk of fracture, and other health conditions you may have.

Talk to your doctor about which osteoporosis treatment may be most promising for you. You may want to ask:

Getting the proper amounts of calcium and vitamin D can provide important benefits to your bones. In many cases, you may be able to get enough of these nutrients through your diet and, in the case of vitamin D, sun exposure.

If you’re not getting adequate calcium and vitamin D, a supplement may help. However, you should talk with a health professional before adding a supplement to your regimen. They can advise on whether a supplement is safe for you and what dose you should take.

You probably had a bone density test prior to receiving an osteoporosis diagnosis. You may need to get additional bone density tests to determine whether your osteoporosis treatment is helping or you’re still experiencing bone loss.

Just how often you should test depends on the severity of your bone loss. Talk with your doctor about how frequently you’ll need to undergo bone density tests.

If you’ve received a diagnosis of postmenopausal osteoporosis, keeping an open dialogue with your doctor can help you manage the condition and reduce the risk of complications. You may want to ask about:

Osteoporosis has no cure, but getting proper treatment and making changes to your diet and lifestyle can help reduce the impact this condition makes on your life. Talk with your doctor about the right osteoporosis management plan for you.

Last medically reviewed on June 28, 2022

Our experts continually monitor the health and wellness space, and we update our articles when new information becomes available.

Women going through menopause have a higher risk of developing osteoporosis. Learn how to slow it down and fortify your body against it.

If you have osteoporosis, you’ve probably heard about this test. Find out what it is, the benefits of getting it, and other things to think about here.

Learn how osteoporosis increases your likelihood of bone fractures, why postmenopausal women have a higher incidence of fractures, and how to reduce…

Find out what exercises are best for building bone health, strengthening muscle, and improving balance.