Menopause and Joint Pain, What’s the Deal?

Menopause and Joint Pain, What’s the Deal?

When you think about menopause, usually symptoms of hot flashes, night sweats, sleep disturbances, mood changes, and possibly weight changes come to mind.  However, other symptoms often overlooked as a part of aging, like joint pains, can also be associated with menopause. Joint pain during menopause affects more than 70% of women. Like the other symptoms mentioned, menopause joint pain is thought to be associated with a sudden decrease in estradiol, the most biologically active form of estrogen.

What is estrogen and how does it affect your musculoskeletal system?

“Estrogen normally has a protective effect on joints, muscles, tendons, and ligaments, and in addition lowers inflammation,” says Dr. Pamela Mehta, a Board-Certified Orthopaedic Surgeon. In addition to these direct effects loss of estrogen has on the joints, decreased estrogen also affects your bone and muscle health.  

Menopause and lower estrogen can lead to the development or progression of many conditions, such as:

●Osteoarthritis (degeneration of the joints), particularly in the knees and hips

●Osteoporosis (degeneration of the bones)

●Tendonitis (tendon inflammation) and plantar fasciitis (heel pain)

●Sarcopenia (muscle loss)

All these conditions can contribute to the aches and pains associated with menopause.

How to Look After Your Joints During Menopause

Dr. Mehta also mentioned that “there are several things you can try to reduce aching joints in menopause. Lifestyle modifications like increasing activity and weight training are helpful for joint pain as well as other effects of menopause.”     

Exercise in Menopause

Exercise can:

●Make muscles stronger and take pressure off joints

●Protect against osteoporosis

●Help prevent falls that could lead to injury

●Maintain weight/prevent weight gain that could worsen the stress on your joints

●Balance your stress level

Interestingly, studies have shown that regular walking has little to no effect on prevention of bone loss although great for your cardiovascular health. Instead, studies have shown that resistance training with low repetitions and heavier weights is the most effective way to increase muscle tone and bone health. Both muscle strength and bone health can contribute to joint pain.

The Good Feet Arch Support and Menopause

“Beyond exercise, shoes with arch supports can help lessen joint pain,” explains Dr. Mehta. For example, using arch support like The Good Feet Arch support system in your shoes has been shown to have many effects, including:  

●Extra cushioning to take away hard impact on the joints

●Improved balance by spreading out pressure across the feet

●Decreased pain in the feet by supporting the natural arches in your feet

●Better alignment of your skeleton (correcting the position of your knees, hips, and spine)

●Decreased pain in the knees and lower back

●Better functional mobility because of less pain and better alignment

The Good Feet Arch supports are an easy, non-time-consuming, addition to your daily activities. These can also be moved between shoes, so they can be used for everyday activities and for exercise.

While there is so much still unknown about the years in a woman’s life surrounding menopause and menopause itself, this groundbreaking study showing its effects on musculoskeletal health is crucial in helping women find the support they need for their entire body, which should include The Good Feet Arch Support System. 

 But What Does Resistance Training Include?

●Free weights (dumbbells, kettlebells)

●Weight machines

●Medicine balls

●Elastic bands

●Body weight exercises

What Muscle Groups Should I Target?

Major muscle groups attached to the hips, spine, and knees are important to target in addition to your core because these are “stabilizing” muscles. Strengthening these can help support joints and improve balance. Exercises to target these include:

●Lunges (quadriceps, or front of thighs)

●Squats (gluteus maximus and medius, and quadriceps)

●Back extensions (erector spinae, or back/core)

●Planks (many muscles of the core)

●Deadlifts (hamstrings, or back of thighs)

●Rows (latissimus dorsi and rhomboids, or back/core)

●Hip abduction/adduction (smaller muscles in the thighs)

●Knee extension/flexion (quadriceps/hamstrings, respectively)

●Plantar- and dorsi-flexion (gastrocnemius, or calf muscles)

Other Ways to Manage Menopausal Joint Pain

●Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) – HRT is an option that you can discuss with your primary care doctor. While this is not recommended for everyone (for example, HRT is not for individuals with a history of breast cancer or blood clots), it may be an option to give some relief if you can take it. HRT can help joint pain and other symptoms of menopause like hot flashes.

●Quit smoking if you do smoke – smoking can increase inflammation and worsen bone health. Smoking can increase the risk for osteoporosis.

●Over-the-counter medications to manage pain and inflammation (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen or naproxen)

●Apply ice or heat to the painful joints

●Use ankle or knee braces for extra support if you have pain in these areas

●Take vitamins and supplements that decrease inflammation and promote joint health

Supplements for Menopause Joint Pain and Natural Remedies

Studies around supplements for menopause joint pain are limited. However, there are studies that assess the efficacy and safety of a variety of supplements for osteoarthritis (degenerative joint disease), which can often be seen in perimenopausal patients. In general, the data is limited by the number of studies and the number of participants included in each study. Make sure to talk with your doctor before starting a supplement to make sure there are no interactions with other medications you may be taking or health conditions you may have.  

Supplements with the largest effect on both pain and physical function:

●Curcuma longa extract (turmeric/curcumin)

●Collagen hydrolysate

●Passion fruit peel extract

●Boswellia

●Pycnogenol

●L-carnitine

Other supplements that may help during menopause:

●Vitamin D

●Calcium (supplementation with Vitamin D is helpful for peri- and postmenopausal women to reduce bone turnover and protect against osteoporosis)

●Glucosamine*

●Chondroitin sulfate*

*Of note, studies have shown that while glucosamine and chondroitin are often found in a combination supplement, the two supplements separately showed positive effects on knee pain but did not show any additional benefit of using both in combination.