By: Dr. Rebecca Temertzoglou DC
If you’ve been moving through perimenopause or menopause and noticing new aches, stiffness, or lingering pain, you’re not imagining it – and you’re definitely not alone.
Muscle and joint pain is one of the most common symptoms women experience during this stage of life. But it’s often downplayed, misunderstood, or chalked up to “just aging.”
The truth? There’s strong research explaining why this happens and, importantly, what can help.
Why so Many Women Feel More Pain During Perimenopause & Menopause
A growing body of research shows that hormone changes – especially fluctuating and declining estrogen – can impact how your muscles, joints and connective tissues feel and function
Studies show:
- Systematic reviews suggest, up to 70% of perimenopausal women experience muscle or joint pain.1
- Perimenopausal women have significantly higher odds of musculoskeletal pain compared to premenopausal women.1
- Postmenopausal women have greater risk of moderate-to-severe musculoskeletal pain compared with both pre- and perimenopausal women.1
- common pain areas include the neck, shoulders, low back, hips, knees or more generalized “everything feels stiff” discomfort.
- Sleep disruption, stress mood changes, and shifting body composition all contribute.
What Hormonal Changes Do to Your Muscles and Joints
Hormonal changes—especially estrogen decline—affect muscles, joints and connective tissues.2,3 Estrogen plays a much bigger role in musculoskeletal (MSK) health than most people realize. As estrogen levels fluctuate and eventually decline you may notice:
- More stiffness in your joints and muscles
- tissues become less elastic, so movement can feel tight or restricted
- Slower recovery after activity
- what used to be easy may now leave you sore for days
- Increased sensitivity to pain
- brain and nervous system changes can make aches feel more noticeable
- More fatigue or changes in stress tolerance
- this indirectly impacts pain, posture, and movement habits
None of this means you should move less, it simply means your body needs different support than before.
Common Pain Patterns in Midlife Women
In clinic, the most frequent symptoms we see align with the research:
- persistent or recurring low back pain
- neck and shoulder tension, sometimes progressing to frozen shoulder
- hip or knee pain – during walking or exercise
- morning stiffness that improves with movement
- tendon pain (achilles, plantar fascia, rotator cuff)
- slower recovery after activity
Left unaddressed, these issues can gradually limit movement, confidence, and overall quality of life.
How Chiropractic Care Supports Women in Perimenopause & Menopause
Chiropractic care doesn’t treat menopause – but it does directly address the movement and pain issues that commonly show up during this transition.
At this stage of life, women often need a mix of:
1. Hands-on Care to Reduce Pain
gentle, evidence informed manual therapy can help ease muscle tension, calm irritated joints, and improve overall comfort.
2. Improving Joint Mobility
restoring how joints move is key for reducing stiffness and improving function.
3. Correcting Compensation Patterns
Pain often causes people to move differently without realizing it. Addressing those patterns early prevents long-term issues.
4. Strengthening & Stability
targeted rehab helps build tissue capacity and resilience.
5. Safe, Consistent Movement
Regular movement is essential for bone, joint and metabolic health during menopause.
6. Supporting the Nervous System
When the nervous system is regulated, women often notice improvements in sleep, stress, and pain tolerance.
Bottom line: getting supportive care early can prevent mild, nagging symptoms from becoming chronic or disabling.
Key Take away
Muscle and joint pain during perimenopause and menopause is common, valid, and treatable.4
With the right support – including evidence-informed chiropractic care – women can continue to move well, stay active, and feel strong though every stage of midlife and beyond.
Feel free to see Dr. Rebecca and start feeling like yourself again!
References:
- Li, L., et al. (2020). Musculoskeletal pain during the menopausal transition: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Neural Plasticity.
- Wright, N. C., et al. (2024). The musculoskeletal syndrome of menopause. Climacteric.
- Salamon, M. (2025). Musculoskeletal syndrome of menopause: When menopause makes you ache all over. Harvard Health Publishing.
- Systematic review of musculoskeletal manifestations in menopause (2024).
