Why can osteoporosis make fractures more likely after menopause?

Osteoporosis increases the likelihood of fractures after menopause because it causes a significant reduction in bone density, making the skeletal structure more fragile and porous.12

During menopause, the decline in the production of estrogen and other sex hormones accelerates the loss of bone mass. Physiologically, this occurs because the balance between new bone formation and the resorption (breakdown) of existing bone is disrupted. As bone resorption increases or formation decreases, the tiny, rigid plates that form the honeycombed matrix within the bone become thinner and rodlike, while the spaces between them grow larger.123

Because there is less bone per unit volume, the bones become lighter and weaker, making them susceptible to fractures from minor stresses or traumas that would typically have no effect on healthy bone. In postmenopausal women, this increased fragility frequently leads to fractures of the femur and compression fractures of the vertebrae, which are major causes of morbidity.12