Make dietary changes to lessen joint and muscle pain during menopause

When Dr Vonda Wright, an orthopaedic surgeon, was in her early 40s, she regularly competed in half-marathons.

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Then, at 47, she entered perimenopause and suddenly found herself struggling to walk even a short distance, crippled by total body joint and muscle pain. "I was in the best shape of my life," she said, and then, "I could barely get out of bed."

In her private practice in Orlando, Florida, she heard similar stories from women going through menopause, including other long-time athletes who now struggled to move comfortably. These patients repeatedly told her, "I feel like I'm falling apart," she said, despite not having endured any obvious injuries.

While doctors have long known that menopause affects bone health, Dr Wright and others now believe the transition affects the health of muscles and joints too. In a paper published in July, she gave this phenomenon a name - the musculoskeletal syndrome of menopause.

The syndrome refers to a constellation of conditions and symptoms that become more prevalent during perimenopause and beyond, including joint pain, frozen shoulder, a loss of muscle mass and bone density, and worsening osteoarthritis, among other things.

Research suggests that more than half of menopausal women may experience musculoskeletal symptoms, some of which are severe enough to be debilitating - yet healthcare providers often dismiss them as unavoidable parts of ageing.

WHAT DOES THE SYNDROME LOOK LIKE?

Dr Wright described a vicious circle she sees in her female patients.

Starting in the menopause transition, women become more sedentary as a result of pain. The less they move, the less they are able to move - and the more frail they become, both in terms of cardiovascular health and in their muscles and bones.