Prevention—Keeping Bones Strong and Healthy
Bone tissue continuously breaks down and rebuilds itself. Until you are 40, you build more bone than you lose, but after that, you lose more than you build. Over a lifetime, bones need to be properly nourished and exercised in order to stay strong and healthy. When bones are undernourished and underused, osteoporosis can result.
If you start your menopausal years with weakened bones, your risk of osteoporosis is greater. While estrogen therapy (ET) such as the CLIMARA® patch works against bone loss, there are other things you can do to keep your bones strong and healthy.
- Eat a diet rich in calcium and vitamin D
- Take calcium supplements, if needed
- Do weight-bearing exercise
Calcium Is Important
Your body needs calcium in order to perform many key functions, including
- Regulating heartbeat
- Conducting nerve impulses
- Clotting of blood
- Building and maintaining healthy bones
It's important that you get enough calcium in order to prevent osteoporosis. How much calcium you need each day depends on your age and your risk factors for osteoporosis.
How Much Calcium Do I Need?
If you are...
- An adolescent, you need 1,300 mg of calcium each day
- An adult woman and you have not gone through menopause, you need 1,000 mg of calcium each day
- An adult woman and you are going through or have gone through menopause and you are taking estrogen therapy, you need 1,000 mg of calcium each day
- An adult woman and you are not taking estrogen therapy, you need 1,500 mg of calcium each day
For more information about your specific calcium requirements, talk to your healthcare professional.
How Can I Get the Calcium I Need From My Diet?
Your best sources of dietary calcium include the following foods:
- Condensed milk
- Nonfat or low-fat yogurt
- Skim or low-fat milk
- Tofu with calcium sulfate
- Canned fish with bones (such as salmon or sardines)
- Cheddar, Muenster, ricotta, Swiss, or Mozzarella cheese
- Soybeans
- Vegetables such as broccoli, spinach, collard greens, turnip greens, okra, and beet greens
Calcium Supplements
If you are unable to get enough calcium through your diet, you may need a calcium supplement. There are several different types of calcium used in supplements. These include calcium carbonate, calcium phosphate and calcium citrate. Talk to your healthcare provider to find out whether you need a calcium supplement, and which one is right for you.
Weight-Bearing Exercise
A physically inactive lifestyle is associated with reduced bone mass. Weight-bearing exercise can help you to maintain and increase bone mineral density and to decrease the risk of fractures caused by osteoporosis.
What Is It and Why Is It Important?
A weight-bearing exercise is simply one that requires you to bear your own weight against gravity. Some examples of weight-bearing exercise are walking, jogging, dancing, stair-climbing and hiking. These exercises are important to build and maintain bone density and strength.
What Kinds of Exercise Should I Do?
Vigorous walking is the simplest—and a highly effective—weight-bearing exercise.
- All you need is a pair of well-cushioned shoes
- Besides the benefits to your bones, vigorous walking (and other aerobic exercises) strengthens the cardiovascular system
If walking isn't for you, try:
- Low-impact aerobics or dance classes
- Soccer or racquet sports
- Stair-climbing, rowing, or cross-country ski machines
- Jogging or running (these promote strong bones but are hard on the joints)
- Free weights or resistance machines (be sure you get proper instruction)
Exercises that are not weight-bearing and are not effective for building bone density and strength include
- Swimming
- Bicycling (although bicycling does provide resistance for the leg muscles, it is not an overall weight-bearing exercise)
If you have not been physically active, be sure to check with your healthcare provider before beginning any exercise program. Your healthcare provider may refer you to a physical therapist who can design an exercise program that is safe and appropriate for you if you have osteoporosis or at are risk for osteoporosis.
How Often Should I Exercise?
The National Osteoporosis Foundation recommends doing weight-bearing exercises on most days of the week for 30 minutes a day. You can use free weights or resistance machines 2 to 3 times per week.
It's important to remember that any bone density and strength you build from exercise are maintained only as long as you continue to exercise.
Important Safety Information
What is CLIMARA used for?
CLIMARA is used after menopause to:
- Reduce moderate to severe hot flashes
- Treat moderate to severe dryness, itching, and burning in or around the vagina
- Treat certain conditions in which a young woman's ovaries do not produce enough estrogen naturally
- Help reduce your chances of getting osteoporosis (thin weak bones)
When prescribing solely for vaginal dryness or osteoporosis, other treatments should be considered.
What is the most important information I should know about CLIMARA (an estrogen hormone)?
- Estrogens increase the chances of getting cancer of the uterus.
Report any unusual vaginal bleeding right away while you are taking estrogens. Vaginal bleeding after menopause may be a warning sign of cancer of the uterus (womb). Your healthcare provider should check any unusual vaginal bleeding to find out the cause.
- Do not use estrogens with or without progestins to prevent heart disease, heart attacks, strokes, or dementia.
Using estrogens with or without progestins may increase your chances of getting heart attack, strokes, breast cancer, and blood clots. Using estrogens with progestins may increase your risk of dementia.
You and your healthcare provider should talk regularly about whether you still need treatment with CLIMARA.
What is CLIMARA PRO used for?
CLIMARA PRO is used after menopause to:
- Reduce moderate to severe hot flashes.
- Help prevent osteoporosis (thin weak bones).
When prescribing solely for osteoporosis, other treatments should be considered.
What is the most important information I should know about CLIMARA PRO (combination of estrogen and progestin hormones)?
- Do not use estrogens with or without progestins to prevent heart disease, heart attacks, or strokes.
Using estrogens and progestins may increase your chances of getting heart attacks, strokes, breast cancer, and blood clots.
- Do not use estrogens with or without progestins to prevent dementia
Using estrogens with progestins may increase your risk of dementia.
You and your healthcare provider should talk regularly about whether you still need treatment with CLIMARA PRO.
Who should not use CLIMARA and CLIMARA PRO? Do not use CLIMARA PRO if you have had your uterus removed (hysterectomy).
Do not start using CLIMARA if you have unusual vaginal bleeding, currently have or have had certain cancers, had a stroke or heart attack in the past year, currently have or have had blood clots, currently have or have had liver problems, are allergic to CLIMARA or CLIMARA PRO or any of its ingredients, or think you may be pregnant.
What are the warnings of less common but serious side effects of CLIMARA or CLIMARA PRO?
Warnings of less common but serious side effects of CLIMARA or CLIMARA PRO include breast lumps, unusual vaginal bleeding, dizziness and faintness, changes in speech, severe headaches, chest pain, shortness of breath, pains in your legs, changes in vision, and vomiting. Call your healthcare provider right away if you get any of these warning signs, or any other unusual symptom that concerns you.
What are common side effects of CLIMARA or CLIMARA PRO?
Common side effects of CLIMARA include headache, breast pain, irregular vaginal bleeding or spotting, stomach/abdominal cramps, bloating, nausea and vomiting, and hair loss.
You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088.
For important risk and use information, please see the full prescribing information.
