When you lead a company, people often ask about your strategy, your growth plans, your next big idea. Rarely does anyone ask about your bones. 

But this World Osteoporosis Day, I want to change that conversation, because bone health isn’t just a personal issue. It’s a leadership issue, a workforce issue, and a cultural issue. 

A few years ago, I was running a thriving national advertising agency, managing a full family life, and feeling strong. Then a doctor’s appointment changed everything. 

My endocrinologist recommended a routine bone-density scan after I reached menopause. I didn’t think twice. I exercised, ate well, and felt healthy. But when the results came back, my doctor said words I’ll never forget: 

“Your bones look like those of a 90-year-old woman.” 

I was in my fifties. My T-score was -4.0, classified as severe osteoporosis. I had joined the ranks of millions of women living with a silent disease that too often reveals itself only after something breaks. 

At first, I did what many women do: I waited. I Googled. I found horror stories online about side effects. I convinced myself that if I just worked harder—lifted weights, took supplements, stayed positive—I could fix it. I was wrong. 

A year later, my follow-up scan showed even more bone loss. My cardiologist looked me in the eye and said, “If you don’t treat your osteoporosis, you could lose ten good years of your life.” 

That sentence changed everything. I began treatment immediately. Within a year, I improved my bone density by 20 percent and rebuilt something more important: trust in myself and in science. 

 

Why CEOs Should Lead Through Vulnerability 

I hesitated to talk about my diagnosis publicly. Would clients or employees see it as weakness? Would my colleagues treat me differently? For a long time, I believed strength meant staying silent. 

But silence has a cost. One in two women over 50 will break a bone due to osteoporosis. One in five already has the disease. Eighty percent of hip fractures occur in women, and those fractures can shorten life expectancy by up to ten years. Despite those statistics, osteoporosis remains largely invisible in medicine, in media, and in the workplace. 

We’ve done an incredible job normalizing breast health. Every October, the world turns pink. We schedule mammogram buddy days. Early detection has become an act of sisterhood. It’s time to do the same for bone health. 

That’s why I started talking about it—first to my team, then on conference stages, and eventually in national publications. What happened next was astonishing. 

I talked to women—executives, nurses, teachers, mothers—each saying the same thing: “I have it too, but I’ve never told anyone.” 

That silence is exactly what we need to break. True leadership isn’t about appearing unbreakable. It’s about having the courage to acknowledge the cracks and the resolve to repair them. 

 

The Business Case for Bone Health

At Rinck, we like data. We make decisions based on measurement, whether we’re analyzing campaign performance, creative engagement, or audience behavior. So I started thinking about health the same way. 

Here’s what the numbers show: 

• Osteoporosis affects more women than heart attack, stroke, and breast cancer combined. 

• The disease costs the U.S. economy more than $20 billion a year in medical expenses and lost productivity. 

• Fractures related to osteoporosis can end careers early, often for women in their 50s and 60s, just as they reach the peak of their expertise and leadership potential. 

• The average age of women entering the C-suite is 50, precisely when bone density begins to decline most rapidly. When untreated osteoporosis sidelines women through injury or fear, it quietly erodes the leadership pipeline. 

That realization led to a simple but powerful policy change. In 2026, Rinck will offer every employee, regardless of age or gender, an annual DXA bone-density scan as part of our wellness benefits. 

It’s painless. It takes fifteen minutes. It costs around $150 out of pocket if not covered by insurance. And it can literally save lives. 

Because bone health isn’t just a women’s issue; it’s a workforce issue. Healthy teams are productive teams. Strong bones build strong leaders, and strong leaders build strong companies. 

 

What Gets Measured Gets Managed 

Running a business teaches you that what gets measured gets managed. The same principle applies to health. My first DXA scan gave me data I didn’t want but desperately needed. Once I had the data, I could build a plan. 

That’s what we’re doing at Rinck. I call it bone-deep wellness culture. It’s proactive, measurable, and personal. We don’t wait for crises; we act early. We approach well-being with the same strategic rigor we bring to our clients’ campaigns, because our people are our most important assets. 

We’re also reframing what “strength” means inside our culture. It’s not about pushing through pain or pretending everything’s fine. It’s about resilience through transparency. It’s about making space for self-care without stigma. 

When leaders talk openly about their own health, they give others permission to prioritize theirs. That’s not vulnerability; it’s vision. 

 

From Personal Advocacy to Cultural Change 

I’ve learned that talking about bone health is about more than prevention. It’s about shifting norms. We need to make it acceptable, even expected, for workplaces to include menopause, osteoporosis, and other women’s health realities in their wellness programs. 

A few steps any organization can take: 

• Include bone-density screening in preventive care benefits. Early detection prevents fractures and long-term disability. 

• Educate employees. Host brief workshops or share resources about risk factors, nutrition, and exercise. 

• Support flexibility. Healing and preventive care require time. Build it into the culture, not as a favor, but as a strategy. 

• Model transparency at the top. When CEOs and managers share their stories, they normalize honesty and reduce fear. 

These are small actions with exponential returns in productivity, loyalty, and morale. 

 

Demand the Scan 

If I could deliver one message this World Osteoporosis Day, it’s this: Don’t wait. The right time to get a bone-density scan isn’t “someday.” It’s whenever you want one. 

Women build bone until about age 35. After that, loss begins—slowly at first, then rapidly during menopause with the loss of estrogen. In just a few years, women can lose up to 20 percent of their bone density. 

Yet most medical guidelines still recommend screening at 65. By then, prevention has become repair. That’s why I’m calling for a new movement: Demand the Scan. 

If you’re under 35, you’re building your bones right now—eat well, lift weights, get enough protein and vitamin D. If you’re in your 40s or 50s, ask for a DXA scan even if your doctor says you’re “too young.” If you’re postmenopausal, get screened, especially if you have a family history of fractures. 

The scan takes minutes. The peace of mind lasts years. 

 

The Foundation of the Future 

Today, my bones are stronger than they were two years ago—and so is my leadership. I’m still running Rinck, still mentoring, still dreaming up big ideas. But I now understand that health isn’t separate from ambition; it’s the infrastructure that sustains it. 

Every great company is built on a solid foundation. So is every great leader. Your skeleton is that foundation—an unseen framework holding up everything you want to accomplish. 

So this World Osteoporosis Day, I invite other leaders, especially women founders and executives, to join me: start a conversation, offer the scan, share your story. 

Because when we measure what matters most, we build not only stronger bones but stronger workplaces, stronger communities, and stronger futures.