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Tribune News Service

Menopause affects women all the way to their bones, and that is why building skeletal health is especially important during perimenopause and after menopause, says Dr May Al-Araji, a women’s health and family medicine expert at Mayo Clinic Healthcare in London.
This is a good time to add strength-training activities such as weightlifting to your exercise routine, Al-Araji says.
“Menopause has a multisystem effect. It can affect you literally from top to bottom, including your skin, hair, brain, central nervous system, heart, organs and skeletal system,” she explains.
Putting stress on bones during perimenopause and after menopause can increase bone density and reduce the risk of osteoporosis.
“Weight-resistance exercises are really key for bone health,” Al-Araji says.

But that does not mean you must become a bodybuilder.
“It’s all about resistance,” Al-Araji explains. “You build it up gradually.”
For example, rather than starting out with barbells or dumbbells, try exercising with resistance bands, also called resistance-tubing. You can also use your body’s weight to create resistance while exercising.
Women approaching or passing menopause can also build bone health by not smoking and by adopting a healthy diet, including foods high in vitamin D such as fortified foods, cereal, and fatty fish such as salmon, mackerel and sardines; and high in calcium, including almonds, broccoli, kale, salmon, sardines and soy products.
If you are not getting enough vitamin D from your diet, talk to your healthcare team about supplements, Al-Araji says.
It is also important to achieve and maintain a healthy weight, with one important caveat, Al-Araji says.
“Try to avoid rapid weight loss. The bones don’t like it. Our bones like very gradual weight loss, built over time.”

If you are trying to lose weight rapidly, it is important to work with your healthcare team on a plan to minimise bone loss, she adds.
Hormone replacement therapy and other medications may be considered when osteoporosis is diagnosed in women who are experiencing perimenopause or menopause, Al-Araji says.
When should a woman approaching perimenopause or in her postmenopausal years be concerned that she might be having bone problems? There are several signs that should prompt a visit to your healthcare team, Al-Araji says:

If you are experiencing burning pains in your bones.


If your bones ache.


If you break a bone from a simple fall. This is known as a fragility fracture, for example, if you fall from your own height (such as a fall from slipping or tripping) and break a bone.


If you are on medications that suppress your immune system, known as immunosuppressants.


If you are taking corticosteroids.


If you have a family history of osteoporosis.


If you have an autoimmune disease such as rheumatoid arthritis.


If you had an X-ray and it showed bone thinning, known as osteopenia.

In general, though, concern about bone health should not prompt women to avoid exercise for fear of damaging their bones, Al-Araji says.
“As long as you’re doing something that you are comfortable with, then I would encourage any form of exercise, even as simple as walking,” she says.
“Brisk walking is ideal. Just get your heart pumping a bit more than usual for you, and get a bit of sweaty skin. That is the ideal exercise really, and the general advice is to walk 30 minutes at least five times a week, if possible.”
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Putting stress on bones during perimenopause and after menopause can increase bone density and reduce the risk of osteoporosis. 
Photo: Shutterstock

Want to age well? Putting stress on bones during perimenopause and after menopause can increase bone density and reduce the risk of osteoporosis, says a women’s health expert. Photo: Shutterstock

Dr May Al-Araji is a women’s health and family medicine expert at Mayo Clinic Healthcare in London. Photo: Mayo Clinic

Rather than starting out with barbells or dumbbells, you can build skeletal strength by exercising with resistance bands. Photo: Shutterstock

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Doing strength training during perimenopause and after menopause can help women build bone health and avoid osteoporosis, an expert says


Doing strength training during perimenopause and after menopause can help women build bone health and avoid osteoporosis, an expert says.


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