Our bone mass is at its best at the age of 30. In the first year of menopause, we lose 5% of our bone mass and 1% every year after that, how strong are your bones? HRT helps maintain a healthy bone cycle i.e it allows the old bone to be taken away and new bone to be deposited by our body cells.
Something well worth considering is to ask your GP for a DEXA scan (dual energy x-absorptiometry scan). This simple, painless, non-invasive imaging test will calculate your T score. If you are premenopausal you will probably receive a Z score. The T score indicates whether you have osteopenia or osteoporosis. Osteopenia refers to the thinning of the bone microstructure. It means that you are likely to break bones more easily, but is not as severe as osteoporosis, which means your bones have lost much of their integrity, leaving you increasingly vulnerable.
More women with osteopenia break their bones. Because there is more of them who are still active. It can be your ankle, your rib or wrist and does not always have to be your hip, HRT helps prevent this by maintaining a healthy bone cycle.
By using HRT you will be assisting your normal bone cycle to continue for much longer, so reducing the risk of either osteopenia or osteoporosis developing. It is likely that women will remain far more active well into the menopausal and post-menopausal phase of their lives and with the risk of osteopenia or osteoporosis reduced. This reduction means they can be more confident about what their bodies are capable of well into older age.