How to Reduce Aching Joints and Back During Menopause

In this article:

• Menopause Joint Pain
• Menopause Related Back Pain

Menopause Joint Pain

Muscle and joint pain are common in women during and after menopause. Joint pain can affect various joints in your body from your neck to your feet. This includes those in your hands, knees, back, neck, shoulders and elbows.

Does Menopause Cause Joint Pain?

When you’re going through menopause, your oestrogen levels go down. Musculoskeletal pain may be attributed to this drop in oestrogen. Oestrogen is anti-inflammatory and mildly immunosuppressive. Low level oestrogen may be protective and promote cartilage growth and reduced degeneration.

Osteoarthritis, a condition causing painful, stiff joints, is more likely to affect women over the age of 45 around the time of menopause.

You may notice that fluctuations in hormone levels can lead to increased pain during menopause. Changing levels of oestrogen may have an impact on how women experience pain.

How Can You help relieve Menopause Joint Pain?

Relieving joint pain during menopause, may depend on the cause of the pain. If joint pain is stopping you from doing your normal activities, it’s advisable to see a GP, to understand the cause.
Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is one of the treatments prescribed by doctors, that can help to relieve the symptoms of menopause, including joint pain. It replaces hormones that are at low levels during menopause. HRT may also help to reduce your risk of osteoporosis and bone fractures.

Other ways to help ease joint pain during menopause, include:

• Taking a painkiller such as paracetamol or ibuprofen, which has anti-inflammatory properties. You can also apply ibuprofen to the skin, in formats such as a gel or a medicated plaster.
• Trying to lose weight if you’re overweight. Following a healthy diet and exercising regularly can also help you to lose weight and ease the symptoms of menopause.
• Regular exercise can also help to reduce joint pain by building muscle and strengthening joints, as well as protect against weak bones.
• Consider physiotherapy. A physiotherapist can suggest an exercise programme that you can do to help relieve pain and also assist by massaging you to help reduce pain and stiffness.

Regular exercise and a healthy, balanced diet are important lifestyle measures that not only help with the symptoms of menopause but will also help protect joints and bones into the future, beyond your menopause years.

When to Get Medical Help for Joint Pain

Speak to your GP if:

• Your joint pain is making it hard for you to do your normal activities
• It affects your sleep
• Your joint pain is getting worse or keeps returning
• Your joints remain stiff 30 minutes after getting out of bed in the morning
• You’ve been self-managing your pain at home for 2 weeks and the pain hasn’t improved

Get help from NHS 111 or make an urgent appointment with your GP if:

• The skin around your joints feels hot and swollen and you’re experiencing joint pain
• You feel sick
• You have a fever, and feel shivery and hot

You need to go to A&E or call 999 if you:

• Have a joint that’s out of place
• Started feeling pain after a fall or injury
• Cannot walk
• Cannot put weight on your affected joint
• Experience a tingling sensation
• Can’t feel at all in the area surrounding your joint after being injured

Menopause Related Back Pain

Back pain, especially lower back pain is common and can have many causes. It can affect people of all ages, however women are more likely to have lower back pain especially from the time of the menopause transition.

Why Does Menopause Cause Back Pain?

There are a few reasons why you could experience back pain during the time of menopause. Levels of the hormone oestrogen drops during menopause, which may be responsible for conditions that lead to back pain, such as :

• Muscle and joint pain
• Osteoarthritis can affect any joint, including the joints in your back
• Your sensitivity to back pain can increase during menopause
• A condition called fibromyalgia, which can cause pain all over the body including the back and can also make pain feel worse

Other factors that might add to back pain include being overweight, poor sleep, mood changes and fatigue.

How Can You Help Relieve Menopause Back Pain?

Menopause related lower back pain can be unpleasant and make activities uncomfortable but there are ways for you to help ease back pain. If your pain is mild, these are some ways that may help you to help manage your pain at home:

• Stay active and try to continue with daily activities.
• Stretches and specific exercises for back pain, may help, including group exercise sessions or a programme provided by a physiotherapist.
• Physiotherapy or manual therapy performed by a trained massage therapist.
• Try taking painkillers with anti-inflammatory properties, such as ibuprofen. Paracetamol may be used with another painkiller however it’s not recommended for the treatment of back pain on its own. Always follow the instructions on the patient leaflet or contact a healthcare professional in if you have any questions or concerns.
• Applying heat to the area of pain such as a hot water bottle wrapped in a tea towel, can relieve joint stiffness and muscle spasms.
• Cold packs applied to painful joints may ease swelling.

When Should You See a Doctor for Back Pain?

You should see your GP if:

• You’ve been managing your back pain at home for a few weeks and it’s not improving
• The pain is making it difficult to do your normal daily activities
• Your pain is severe or becoming worse
• You’re having difficulty coping with pain or you’re worried about it

Get an urgent appointment or phone your GP immediately if:

• Your back pain is accompanied by a fever, unexplained weight loss, a lump or swelling.
• If your pain becomes worse at night or if you cough, sneeze or have a poo.
• If the pain starts at the top of your back between your shoulder blades.
• Your pain does not improve after resting

Get urgent medical attention by calling or going straight to an emergency department if you have back pain and:

• Have chest pain
• Have trouble peeing or have lost control of your bowel or bladder (uncontrolled peeing or pooing).
• Get tingling, weakness, pain and numbness in your legs or you experience tingling and numbness around your buttocks or genitals.
• Started getting back pain after a serious accident.