Menopause Joint Pain and Bone Loss Explained (It’s Hormonal, Not Aging)
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Hope (Announcer): [00:00:00] Welcome to the Mr. Menopause Show, your go-to source for reliable menopause and healthy aging support. Hosted by certified and award-winning menopause educator, strategist, author, and speaker Tafiq Akhir, also known as Mr. Menopause. If you're tired of feeling dismissed, confused, or stuck, get ready to take back your power.
The journey to clarity, confidence, and autonomy over your menopause journey starts here.
Tafiq Akhir (Mr. Menopause): Hello, hello and welcome to the show. Today we are talking about something that you're probably not hearing enough about, but that you absolutely should because while everyone's focusing on hot flashes, mood swings, and night sweats, and look, yes, those do matter.
But what we're not talking about though is the way that menopause impacts your bones and your joints. And look, let me tell you. If you don't understand this piece of the puzzle, you might be missing the reason why you're waking up in pain, feeling stiff or struggling to move like you used to. Have you [00:01:00] noticed your knees hurt more when you go down the stairs than up?
Have you stood up and needed to take a moment to get your bearings because your joints felt tight? Have you avoided a workout, not from laziness, but because your hips or your shoulders felt like they were screaming at you or started second guessing movement altogether? Because it feels like your body is betraying you when you try.
Now, if any of this sounds familiar, well this episode is for you, and let me just say this. If no one has validated what you're feeling. I'm gonna do that for you right now. You are not making it up. It's not just aging. It's not just wear and tear. It's your hormones and your body's desperate. Call for support.
Now, let me tell you about Rochelle. Rochelle came to me after a seemingly minor fall in her kitchen. She slipped, reached out to break her fall and snapped her wrist. Now here's what's wild. Rochelle was active, she was careful and wasn't dealing with what anyone would consider to be high risk [00:02:00] lifestyle activity.
So why did her wrist break so easily? You guessed it. Bone loss due to menopause, and here's what made her furious. No one even told her this could happen. Not a doctor, not a nurse, not a trainer. And look, she's not alone. She had been to physical therapy. She'd been doing stretching with stretch coaches and she'd been given pain medication, but no one connected the dots between her hormonal shifts and the weakening in her bone matrix.
And this isn't a rare case. This is happening every day. See, a lot of women assume that joint pain or injuries are just part of aging, but aging is not the villain here. Unaddressed hormonal changes are, and the longer we delay talking about this, the more damage is done in silence. Bone fractures aren't just injuries.
They are re wake-up calls. And for many women, they're the first clue that something deeper is going on hormonally. But by that point, you're playing catch up and you, we should not be waiting until women are hurt in order to talk [00:03:00] about prevention. Now, here's the truth. Estrogen plays a critical role in maintaining bone density.
It helps to regulate the process of breaking down and rebuilding bone tissue. When your estrogen levels drop, what happens? This happens during perimenopause, but it crashes during menopause, and your body starts breaking down more bone than it builds. That puts you at risk for other conditions like osteopenia and osteoporosis.
Now, studies show that up to 20% of a woman's bone mass can be lost during the first five to seven years of menopause. Now, that's not just gradual aging. That is a hormonal landslide. And let's take it a step further, because your bones aren't just the scaffolding holding you upright. They are living tissue.
They're metabolically active and when they're not nourished or supported or even challenged through movement and strength training, well. Stay weakened quietly, consistently until one day they fail. And [00:04:00] bone isn't something that you feel getting weaker. It doesn't send out a plain flare or a popup on a blood test.
Most women don't realize anything is changing until they fall, and then they're told, oh, you have osteoporosis. Well, that's not support. That's neglect. And that's why this conversation matters because bone loss and joint degradation are preventable. They are manageable, but only if you know that they're happening.
But bones aren't the only issue here. Let's talk about your joints. Estrogen also affects that production of collagen, which is a major component of joint cartilage. It keeps your joints, uh, cushioned, flexible, and well lubricated. When estrogen drops, inflammation increases, collagen, production slows down, and the cushioning between your joints and your bones, well, they start to wear down.
What does that mean for you though? It means that the pain in your hands, the stiffness in your knees and the aching in your hips are not just wear and tear. They're the result of hormonal [00:05:00] disruption. Have you ever gone to open a jar and felt like your hands just couldn't grip like they used to, or woken up with stiff fingers that loosen up later in the day that's not sleeping funny?
That's a hormonal story that your joints are trying to tell you. And if you've been told it's just arthritis or fibromyalgia or normal for your age, without a hormone panel, without a discussion about estrogen's role without a treatment plan, that includes a lifestyle and strength interventions, well, you've been dismissed, period.
You know, I once worked with a woman in her late forties who was given anxiety meds when she reported joint pain and fatigue. Not once did they check her hormone levels, and, but after six months of working together with me, with through education, strength training, and anti-inflammatory support, she not only felt better, she got off the meds that she never should have been on in the first place.
And this is what education can do. This is what awareness can prevent. So let's connect the dots even [00:06:00] further because when your joints hurt, you move less. When you move less, you lose muscle. When you lose muscle, your bones suffer more. And let's not forget, muscle isn't just for strength, it's also for balance, for coordination, for injury prevention, and the number one cause of injury for older women falls the number one reason for the falls.
Poor balance, weak muscles and unstable joints. It's a vicious cycle that affects your independence, your energy, your strength, and your confidence. And this spiral doesn't just show up in the gym. It shows up when you can't play with your grandkids on the floor when you hesitate before going on a hike with your friends.
And when you need help carrying groceries or. Opening jars, and this is what I mean when I say bone and joint health is menopause health. But here's another kicker. Most women, again, are not being warned. I've seen so many women who've been prescribed antidepressants, anxiety meds, painkillers, but not a [00:07:00] single conversation about their bones, their joints, or their estrogen levels.
Have you ever been offered a DEXA scan to check your bone density? Has a doctor talked to you about collagen resistance training or inflammation? Has anyone connected your joint pain to your hormones? And if not, let me first say you're not broken. What you are is underserved and honestly. It pisses me off because it's avoidable and it's predictable, and it's exactly what we should be talking about during every perimenopause and menopause conversation.
You don't have to just accept that your body is falling apart because it's not. It's adapting, and when you give it the right support, well it's damn near unstoppable. Right? So what do you do? You get informed, you take action, and you stop letting silence make the decisions for you. Because joint pain, not inevitable, bone loss, not untreatable, you have [00:08:00] more power than you think.
You just need a clear. Path. Now let's go deep into what's really happening inside your body during menopause that impacts your bones and your joints. Not surface level stuff, not just take calcium. This is about the mechanisms, the cause, the cascade. Because if you don't understand what's driving the pain, the stiffness and the fractures, then how can you ever be expected to manage it?
And remember, this is not about memorizing medical terms either, right? This is about knowing your body well enough. To advocate, to take action, and to never again be dismissed when you say something feels off. So let's start with the beginning First. Bone is not static. It's alive. So let's bust a myth right off the bat.
Your bones are not lifeless structures like those Halloween skeletons hanging in Science labs. Bone is living dynamic tissue. It's constantly breaking down and rebuilding through a process called bone remodeling. And [00:09:00] it's not just happening once in a while. It's happening every single day. It's happening right now.
Two key players that run the show are osteoclast, which break down old bone and osteoblasts, which build new bone in its place. Now, here's where it gets crucial though, because estrogen is the boss of the operation. It slows down the demolition crew and allows the builders to take time to do their job.
Estrogen maintains the balance and the harmony, but when estrogen starts to drop during menopause, well, the demo crew goes into full blown overtime and the builders just can't keep up. And that's when bone loss starts to outpace bone growth, leaving your structure weaker from the inside. The scariest part is that you don't feel it.
There's no pain. There's no warning until one day a sneeze cracks your rib, and that's not drama. Right? That's real. It happened to one of my clients and she was stunned. And that's the thing. Bone responds to how you live if you lift, move, or fuel your [00:10:00] body properly. It strengthens, but if you're sedentary, stressed, or depleted, it weakens in silence.
It's not about age, it's about awareness, right? You can't fix what you're not even told to look for. And for many women, menopause marks the moment when the balance silently shifts. Next is how hormones control more than just your mood, right? We often hear that menopause is just about estrogen dropping, but that's only the beginning.
Menopause triggers a chain reaction across your entire hormonal ecosystem, and those shifts don't just affect your mood, they affect your muscles, your joints, your bones, your energy and inflammation levels. Estrogen may be the headliner, but she's not the only player in this hormonal symphony. And let's take a look at the rest of the cast first.
Progesterone known for its calming effect, but also helps to regulate inflammation. When it declines, inflammation tends to rise, especially in your joints. [00:11:00] Next is testosterone. Supporting muscle mass and strength. Less testosterone means less muscle, which means less support for your bones. DHEA helps with tissue repair and resilience as it drops, your ability to bounce back while it decreases as well.
Then there's cortisol, right? This is your stress hormone, and when it stays elevated too long, it actually pulls calcium from your bones and chronic stress. Well, it's literally stealing your structure insulin. And as estrogen declines, many women experience insulin resistance, right, which increases systematic inflammation and affects collagen production.
That's a key component, right? A key component of joint and connective tissue. So if you're thinking, why am I waking up stiff, sore and foggy? Well, this is why it's not your body breaking down for no reason. It's that your hormonal support system is shifting. Now, pair those changes with poor sleep, less movement, and high stress.
Well, that's a perfect storm for joint [00:12:00] pain, instability and fatigue. But here's the empowering part. Once you understand the storm, you can learn how to weatherproof your body against it. Next is the inflammation link that most doctors overlook. Now let's talk about one of the most powerful and overlooked drivers of pain during menopause, and that is inflammation.
When estrogen declines, your body becomes more vulnerable to systematic inflammation, and that inflammation doesn't just hang out in your gut or cause bloating. It finds its way into your joints, your muscles, your ligaments, and even your nerves. And here's the kicker, though, chronic inflammation. Doesn't always present as a dramatic swelling or redness.
It can be subtle, persistent, and painfully ignored. This is how it shows up. Morning stiffness that takes forever to shake off. Joint pain that seems to move around your body feeling sore after doing basically nothing. A diagnosis of [00:13:00] early arthritis or fibromyalgia that doesn't feel quite right. You might be told it's aging, you might be prescribed medication, but the truth is this could be hormone triggered inflammation, not a random breakdown, and let's layer in something else.
Increased histamine sensitivity. Yep. Many women develop new allergies, rashes, and unexplained food reactions during menopause, and that's also inflammation. Estrogen helps to regulate histamine responses, and without it, your body can overreact to triggers that never used to bother you before. This chronic low grade fire in your body slows down, healing, it increases fatigue, and makes your nervous system more reactive.
So if you're feeling raw. Itchy or overly sensitive, your body isn't exaggerating. It's trying to speak up. Now, unfortunately, most doctors won't connect the dots, but now you can understanding inflammation as a menopause issue and not just a [00:14:00] general health issue. Well, it puts you one step closer to real relief.
And next is why strength training is your secret weapon. Now, let's shift gears because we've talked about what's happening to your body. Now let's talk about what you can do about it. The first answer isn't another supplement or some trendy detox, right? It's something far more powerful strength training.
See, your bones aren't passive. They're responsive, and what they respond to most is load weight resistant tension. Just like muscles grow stronger with challenge, bones get denser. When stimulated through movement, the process is called wolf law. Your bones adapt to the demand you place on them. No demand.
They shrink. Consistent safe resistance, they rebuild. But here's the catch. This doesn't require gym memberships or bodybuilding routines. You can start with small things like lifting your groceries, intentionally using resistance bands at home, [00:15:00] climbing the stairs instead of avoiding them. Practicing body weight movements like squats or wall pushups.
See, this isn't about aesthetics. It's about longevity. Strong muscles support your joints. They stabilize your spine, they reduce your risk of falling, and they boost your metabolism. And all of this starts. Telling your body, I'm still here and I still need, you see the myth that strength training is dangerous or too much for midlife women?
Well, you need to toss that out because what's truly dangerous is doing nothing while your bones silently lose density. And if you've been taught to shrink, to play small or to focus only on cardio, it's time to rewrite that script because strong bones require strong muscles. And strength isn't about ego, it's about energy, balance, and independence.
And let me tell you, there is nothing more empowering than reclaiming that. Next we're gonna talk lab scans and what to actually [00:16:00] ask for. So this is about strategy because knowledge without action, well, it's just noise. And I wanna arm you with the actual test that can help uncover what's really going on inside your body, especially when it comes to your bones and your joints.
Start with the DEXA scan. It's the gold standard for measuring bone mineral density. And if you're in menopause or even perimenopause, you should definitely have one on record. Period, but don't stop there. Ask for comprehensive hormone panel. That includes estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, and D-H-D-H-E-A.
These all influence bones, muscles and inflammation levels. Most standard tests skip this half altogether, so you do need to ask specifically for it. Also, request vitamin D or 25 hydroxy because without enough of this, your body can't absorb calcium efficiently. Calcium and parathyroid hormone or PTH.
These indicate how well your body regulates and uses calcium, and then high [00:17:00] sensitivity CRP or C-reactive protein. This shows your level of systematic inflammation. And then if it's available, look into NTX or CTX markers, which assess bone turnover activity. Now, if your provider resists or says, oh, that's unnecessary, you have two options.
Ask why or find a provider who treats you like a partner and not like a problematic person. Because listen, you're not a nuisance for asking for, uh, real responses or for asking questions about what's actually happening in your body, right? You're not being too much for actually. Wanting more clarity, right?
This is your body, this is your bones, this is your future mobility, and you deserve more than a shrug and vague advice, right? The better your data, the smarter your decisions period. Next week's episode is all about cognitive health during menopause, and yes, we are talking about brain fog, forgetfulness, and uh, what's really going on [00:18:00] in your mind when your hormones are shifting, it is going to be enlightening.
Relatable and packed with science and solutions. Until then, I'm Taika Kier. Mr. Menopause here. This is the Mr. Menopause Show reminding you support is not a luxury. It is a right. Until next time, stay safe and be well.
I.
