Understanding Bone Health in Menopausal Patients
This is a recent video I shared on my Instagram page for patients, but I wanted to break it down here for my students — because it’s something I believe every practitioner should understand when managing patients in midlife.
When a patient presents with menopausal symptoms, bone health isn’t usually the first thing they bring up — but it should always be part of your assessment. Most patients haven’t had their bone density checked unless there’s a known family history of osteoporosis. The problem is that both osteopenia and osteoporosis are silent. You won’t know your patient has either condition until a fracture occurs, and by then, prevention has already slipped through your fingers.
Inside all my menopause consultations, I assess for fracture risk factors. I use a tool called FRAX (Fracture Risk Assessment Tool) — something I teach about in more depth inside the academy when we look at holistic patient assessments. FRAX helps determine whether a DEXA scan is advisable to measure bone mineral density. This step is crucial if you want to provide a full, medically informed care plan that goes beyond just symptom management.
Clinical note:If your patient is taking weight-loss medication such as a GLP-1 agonist (for example, Ozempic), remember — it’s not the drug that affects bone health, but the speed of weight loss. Losing weight too quickly can reduce bone density, so always factor this into your treatment plan and patient education.
For my students on the Foundation Botox Course, this kind of awareness is what sets a safe and ethical practitioner apart. Whether you’re assessing muscle movement for injection placement or taking a full medical history, always look at your patient as a whole person — not just the area you’re treating.
If you’re not yet part of the academy, this is the kind of clinical insight we explore in depth. My goal is to train practitioners who don’t just inject — they understand the patient behind the needle.
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