As we close out May celebrating mothers and osteoporosis awareness month and welcome summer, many of us are filled with optimism from graduations and vacations on the horizon.
After recently participating in a women’s health panel hosted by media company Hearst and Women’s Health magazine, I am optimistic about the future of women’s health. Topics ranging from maternal health, women in sports, and even osteoporosis and menopause made it to prime time in NYC. The key note speaker, Jill Biden focused on the recent $12 billion commitment to women’s health research, stating “let’s write a new future for ourselves, and for the girls and women who will follow. A future where women leave doctors’ offices with more answers than questions. A future where no woman or girl has to hear that, “it’s all in your head,” or “it’s just stress.”
The goals of media, political and medical representation are aligned and on our side. The movement in midlife women’s health is being fueled by women across the nation who demand better care and more answers.
Dr. DeSapri in the news:
Podcasts to listen while you walk or travel and move your bones to highlight osteoporosis awareness month:
Midlife must know!
What we know:
Most of us know firsthand there is a strong mind-body connection. Consider how social or emotional stress impacts digestion, triggers hot flashes and heart palpitations, and causes an epidemic of teeth grinding (or so I’m told from my dentist!)
Particularly in perimenopause and menopause, the reduction and fluctuation of hormones causes disruption in many mind- body equilibriums. So how can we focus on strategies that restore mind/body connection? Many women turns to eastern medicine such as acupuncture, tai chi or more popular flow type exercises including yoga and Pilates. And if there’s time in your day, meditation.
What’s new:
In this month’s Menopause journal, a systematic review of 11 RCTs encompassing 1,005 perimenopausal and menopausal women revealed that mind-body exercises such as Pilates, yoga, tai chi, qigong, and mindfulness-based stress reduction (meditation), when compared with control groups, significantly improve bone mineral density, sleep quality, anxiety, depression, and fatigue. Obviously to have considerable benefit these studies examined women over 12-48 weeks with 3-5 days per week of consistent movement practices and 1 impactful study included 2.5 hours of meditation over 8 wks.
What does this mean for me?
This large study confirms that most perimenopausal and menopausal women could benefit from consistent mind-body practices. An easy place to start is Tai chi that can be done from comforts of your backyard or basement. As a menopause specialist I see daily the power in treating symptoms from hot flashes and osteoporosis to fragmented sleep and vaginal dryness with our effective medical options. However, it’s also important to recognize that hormones and supplements can’t replace movement and mindfulness.
Finally, we all need inspiration. Whether it be the uprising of midlife women’s health movement, celebrating grads and Dads with friends and family, or blooming flowers in yours (or a neighbors!) garden I hope you are inspired and hopeful for the summer months ahead!
At Bone and Body Women’s Health we always look forward to helping women achieve optimal health and thank you for trusting us with your care.
See You Soon!
Dr. Kristi DeSapri Tough