Menopause may be a completely normal part of the ageing process but it’s not always an easy experience for women. One problem that they may experience is menopause joint pain. In this article we look at what causes joint pain during the menopause and how you can treat it and alleviate it.

What happens during the menopause?

In order to understand why menopause causes joint pain for some women, it’s important to understand the basics of the process. Menopause is actually considered to be the ‘end stage’ of the process, when a woman has gone 12 months without menstruating.

However, rarely does menstruating simply stop happening overnight with no changes in the lead up. This preceding time is called the perimenopause. This is when the hormone levels begin to change, and typically lasts 3-5 years. For some women it can last considerably longer. The average age that most women in the US start going through the menopause is 51. This is when the symptoms are most experienced.

Overall, during the perimenopause and up to the menopause, reproductive and sexual hormones decrease. However, often they fluctuate considerably for some time beforehand.

It’s this fluctuation of hormones that can cause the symptoms of the menopause including hot flushes, bloating, vaginal dryness and, as we’ll explore here, joint pain.

Menopausal joint pain

It is, unfortunately, not uncommon for menopausal women to experience an increase in joint pain as their hormone levels fluctuate, and potentially in the longer term. It can affect any joint in the body, but generally it is experienced most in the neck and shoulders, knees, hands and elbows. The hips can also be particularly problematic.

You may experience more pain in a joint that has previously caused you trouble, or it may be a new pain altogether.

Typically, with menopausal joint pain, the pain is worse early in the morning and combined with stiffness.

What causes menopausal joint pain?

There are actually a few different reasons why your joint pain may worsen or start during the menopause:

Changes to estrogen levels

As we say, the fluctuations and decline in your previous balance of hormones lies behind menopausal joint pain. This is because estrogen has a powerful effect on reducing inflammation. This is why previously, during your menstrual cycle, you may have had different experiences of pain and inflammation at different times of the month.

During the perimenopause, your estrogen levels are gradually declining. This can result in greater inflammation in the joints, particularly if there is an injury, and this causes discomfort and pain.

More research needs to be done to determine why estrogen is so correlated with inflammation. However, one mainstream medical theory is that estrogen is important for helping you to regulate fluid in the body. With less estrogen circulating, the body can’t hold as much water and this reduces the amount of joint lubrication.

It’s also important to understand that with the reduction in estrogen, a woman’s risk of osteoarthritis and osteoporosis also increases. Both these conditions are associated with increased pain in the joints.

Dehydration

As explained above, reduced fluid regulation may in part be due to dropped estrogen levels. However, there are other causes which can worsen this, and indeed exacerbate it. Excessive sweating, and difficulty regulating your temperature with hot flashes, which are themselves symptoms of the menopause, causes you to lose more fluid. Not drinking enough will worsen the situation.

Dehydration can then cause your kidneys to find it harder to excrete the build-up of uric acid. This in turn can trigger inflammation and make your joints more painful. Women who may be frustrated by night-time toilet trips and therefore limit their fluid intake, but who also experience night sweats, may find they wake particularly stiff in the mornings, due to dehydration.

Stress

Increased stress and a rise in anxiety are common experiences during the menopause. It’s becoming more and more apparent through research that stress impacts the body as well as our perception of pain. With increased cortisol (the stress hormone) there can be increased inflammation leading to painful joints. Stress and anxiety will also lead to tension and this too can worsen your experience of pain.

Weight gain

Weight gain is very normal during the menopause. Your metabolism changes due to the changes in estrogen, and you may find that weight gain slides upwards during the menopause.

In all people, weight gain is associated with painful joints because of the extra pressure. This is particularly true of lower weight-bearing joints, most noticeably the knees and the hips.

How can you treat and manage menopausal joint pain?

The good news is that there are many things that you can do to help you manage menopause joint pain. We do strongly recommend making an appointment with your healthcare practitioner or doctor to discuss you options. You might try:

·Exercise and movement

Joint pain is often worsened through inactivity. Gently exercising your joints and improving strength and flexibility can help you to alleviate pain and prevent worsening. Pilates, swimming, yoga and gentle martial arts are all excellent activities to try. Try to incorporate some strength training as this will ensure stronger bones and muscles to support your joints, most notably protecting against osteoarthritis. By increasing your activity levels you’ll also combat some of the effects of weight gain, and better manage stress and anxiety. Walking can be particularly good for this.

·Stress and anxiety relief

Learning stress and anxiety management techniques can definitely help to reduce pain through alleviating tension and reducing the amount of cortisol being released. Exercise can definitely help with this as it helps to ‘discharge’ cortisol.

However, find the right stress management techniques that work for you. For you it may be mindfulness, gardening, journaling or booking in a coffee with a friend.

·Look at your diet

Many of us don’t realize that we may need to adjust our diet as we age. If you are experiencing menopausal joint pain, you may need to make a few changes to increase the amount of omega-3 fatty acids while decreasing your consumption of refined carbohydrates.

Eating a good whole food diet, loosely based on Mediterranean diet principles, with lots of oily fish and leafy greens can help. Anti-inflammatory foods such as cherries and blueberries may help too.

If you don’t already, you may find it beneficial to supplement your diet with Vitamin D3.

·Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT)

HRT is the best-known and most-effective way of treating low estrogen in menopausal women, and thus helping with their symptoms including joint pain. Your doctor will be able to advise you regarding taking HRT.

Estrogen pills are a common way to eliminate the problem of low estrogen and combat the symptoms caused by the menopause. It’s also been shown that taking estrogen pills, such as Premarin, can reduce the risk of osteoporosis. HRT is also available as patches and pessaries, so you can usually find the right option to work for you.

We know that it is essential that women feel able to make the right choices for their health and wellbeing. You can buy hormone replacement therapy from International Pharmacy knowing that you are choosing a retailer you can trust. Always speak to your doctor and follow their advice.