It is very normal and natural to start feeling aches and pains in your body and joints as you enter perimenopause and menopause. This may be due to the changes in oestrogen and progesterone, and increased arthritis due to wear and tear over the years. In this article I will look at what you can do to counterbalance these effects.

The effects of oestrogen:

One of the many functions of your oestrogen hormone is that it helps reduce inflammation, and therefore helps control aches and pains. As this starts to fluctuate throughout perimenopause then drop in menopause, inflammation goes up, as do aches and pains.

The effects of progesterone:

As you enter perimenopause progesterone also starts to fluctuate then drop off in menopause. One of the many functions of progesterone is that it helps loosen muscles, tendons and ligaments. As such, as progesterone reduces so does the flexibility in your muscle and joints.

Arthritis:

As we get older our body suffers wear and tear and degeneration. The cartilage in joint also wears down over the years. Cartilage is responsible for cushioning the joints. Without cartilage or with little cartilage you have less or no cushioning and therefore the joints swell and hurt when the bones scrape together.

Strategies to combat these effects to help you reduce aches and pains:

• Maintain an active life – Activity helps to reduce inflammation, so the more you move, the less pain you will have. It will also help keep joints mobile without freezing up.
• Drink plenty of water – Water helps maintain efficient and adequate levels of blood flow.
  • This helps nutrient distribution
  • Helps remove toxins
  • Helps transport oxygen around the body and to the muscles.
  • All of this together reduces inflammation and therefore reduces pain.
• Complete activation exercises, mobility and stretches before and after exercises – If you are not sure what specifically to do, shoot us a message, we can help you with this.
• Avoid sugary food – Sugary food increases toxicity and therefore inflammation in the body.
• Eat nutrition meals – Consuming high quality fresh foods over processed, increase the amount of nutrients you receive, reduce toxins, reduce inflammation and help improve gut health. The better your gut health, the body your body will cope with inflammation and keep it under control, reducing aches and pains.
• Improve your gut health:
  • Avoid exposure to toxins such as chemicals, nicotine, excessive alcohol, excessive caffeine and energy drinks.
  • Reduce and preferably eliminate sugary foods.
  • Take probiotics to boost good gut bacteria.
  • Wash your hands regularly to reduce germs and bacteria coming in contact with your mouth and food.
  • Avoid allergy or intolerance food.
  • Increase intake of fresh food.
  • Consume fermented foods such as kimchi, kombucha, fermented vegetables, sour croute etc.
  • Supplement with L-Glutamine as it helps support gut health.
• Supplement with magnesium – There are over 10,000 functions of magnesium. A few of which include reducing inflammation, aiding in hydration and improving metabolism. All of these help reduces cramps, and general chronic pain.
• Supplement with Glucosamine – Glucosamine helps with joint elasticity, so reduces stiffness in joints.
• Supplement with Curcumin – Curcumin is an awesome natural anti-inflammatory so helps relieve aches and pains.

If all else fails, look into PRP (Plasma Rich Platelet) Therapy to be assessed if you are eligible.  

With PRP the doctor uses your own blood to extract rich plasm and injects it into the affected joint, so your body can naturally help heal itself.

Now this is not suitable for everybody, but it is worth looking into if you cannot get any relief.

You don’t need to keep going living with pain. There are many options to help you feel and move better. If you need help with this, please shoot us a message.

• Coach Terri