There are several categories of drugs being prescribed in the name of bone protection. In this article we discuss the latest findings on the group known as bisphosphonates.

If you’ve turned on the TV lately, leafed through a magazine, or surfed the internet, you’ve likely seen an advertisement warning you about bone loss. And the ad most likely recommends a certain medication to prevent it. It’s true that many more people are suffering from osteoporosis today than in
the past, but lots of women want to know if they really need to take Fosamax, Actonel, Boniva, or some other prescription medication to strengthen their bones.

Quite simply, my answer is no. In almost all cases, taking a prescription medication is not needed. Women from around the country come to our bone center for a natural approach to strengthening their bones — and it’s been working for more than 20 years. Osteoporosis and osteopenia medications are big business, but despite all the hype and marketing from drug companies, there is a safer, more effective and natural approach to bone health available to you.

Prescription drugs known as bisphosphonates often do lead to initial increases in bone mineral density in those women taking them, but the osteoporosis story is much more complicated than how dense your bone appears on a bone density scan. In many cases these medications don’t add any benefit in terms of fracture, and as we’ve been seeing lately, they may even hurt bone. Several women have recently reported strange fractures after taking bisphosphonates for five years or more — something I started to see in my practice years ago.

Let’s take a closer look at prescription drugs for bone health, so you can make an informed decision about treatment for osteoporosis and osteopenia.

How bisphosphonates work — denser may not mean stronger

Bisphosphonates haven’t been on the market for very long, so we are still learning about their exact effects in the body. But we do know that the molecules in these drugs attach themselves strongly to the mineral surfaces1 in both cortical (outer compact bone) and trabecular (inner spongy matrix) bone to increase mass.

1 Russell, R. 2006. Bisphosphonates: From bench to bedside. Ann. NY Acad. Sci., 1068, 367–401. URL (abstract):http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16831938 (accessed 08.05.2008).