A Common Perimenopause Symptom That’s Often Overlooked

If you thought perimenopause was just hot flashes and brain fog, you might be in for a rude awakening.

Over the past several months I learned that joint pain can also be a symptom of perimenopause.

In fact, joint pain a common symptom, but one that’s often overlooked — especially if you are prone to other types of physical pain.

In my 20s and early 30s, I experienced chronic pain; I was also diagnosed with fibromyalgia. Both had largely subsided over the past decade, once I started working out daily.

In recent months, however, I started experiencing new types of pain in and around my joints. Sometimes it was hard to tell whether this was a recurrence of my dormant chronic pain and fibromyalgia or something new.

Then I started noticing some patterns among some of my mid-life female yoga students who complained about pain in similar areas — especially the hips. After some more research I learned that joint pain is a common symptom of perimenopause.

What Causes Perimenopausal Joint Pain?

Although the cause of joint pain in perimenopause is not fully understood, it seems to be related to the decline in estrogen that occurs at this phase in a woman’s life.

Contrary to popular misconception, estrogen is not just a reproductive hormone.

Estrogen also plays a role in reducing inflammation, enhancing joint lubrication, and reducing pain signals.

As estrogen declines,

• inflammation increases
• joints receive less lubrication
• pain signals increase

What Does Perimenopausal Joint Pain Feel Like?

As women approach their final period, joint and muscle pain become about twice as common compared to other points in the menopause transition.

Joint pain doesn’t always feel like sharp pain.

It can include a gradual increase in stiffness, aching, and swelling in the joints. It might feel like arthritis.

One challenge with this symptom is that it can take a while to notice it. Especially if you’ve had children, you have had other physical issues like chronic pain or fibromyalgia, or you are very active.

It can be hard to untangling the web of symptoms and causes. Is your knee pain really a result of a compensatory movement pattern? Is your hip pain a fibromyalgia flare up? Is all of this just the physical manifestation of a stressful emotional state?

Or, is it all of the above?

This challenge is complicated by the difficulty in receiving clear diagnoses. When I asked my doctor to test my hormone levels, she pointed out that hormone levels naturally fluctuate throughout the month, so one reading won’t give us much information.

How to Alleviate Perimenopausal Joint Pain?

Two obvious ways to alleviate perimenopausal joint pain are over the counter pain medications and hormone replacement therapy.

But not everyone wants to take medication or hormones.

I’ve been experimenting with natural ways to alleviate my pain. In the next post I’ll share a few things that have been working for me.