Joint Pain Isn’t Just Aging
18 days ago
- Aching joints in midlife can be a hormone story, not a wear-and-tear story. Progesterone is the first hormone to drop, sometimes as early as our thirties, and it is the body’s natural water release valve. Without enough of it, estrogen keeps cells holding fluid they cannot let go of, including in the joint spaces. Then estrogen itself declines, and estrogen is tied to collagen, inflammation, joint lubrication, connective tissue and pain perception. Less of it means less resilience and slower recovery.
- Bone loss speeds up before your last period, and there is nothing to feel. The average age of menopause is 51, but the acceleration in bone loss can start up to two years earlier. You cannot feel bone getting thinner. I want women to have a baseline bone density scan no later than 50, and earlier if there has been a low-impact fracture, rather than waiting for the standard age-65 recommendation.
- The workouts that got you here are not the workouts that keep you strong. Cardio is still good for you and still fun, but it is not what builds muscle or supports metabolism in midlife. The goal shifts from burning calories to keeping and building muscle and protecting bone, which means strength training, mobility, real recovery days, walking, protein and sleep. Bone is living tissue that rebuilds from the signals you give it.
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