How menopause can change the way your joints and muscles feel
Dr Nicola Tik
Maybe it is your fingers that feel stiff on the keyboard first thing, or a shoulder that aches after a run of meetings, or knees that grumble on the stairs when they never used to. If you are somewhere around midlife, these changes can feel puzzling, especially when nothing seems to have set them off. Hormones are often part of the story, and knowing that can make the next steps feel much clearer.
Aches and stiffness around menopause are very common. A large review found that around seven in ten women in perimenopause report muscle or joint aches, noticeably more than before menopause.
In 2024, a group of clinicians gave this pattern its own name, the musculoskeletal syndrome of menopause. They estimate it affects around 70% of midlife women in some way. Having a name matters. It means what you are feeling is a recognised pattern linked to hormonal change, not simply “getting older”.
Oestrogen does far more than most people realise. Your cartilage, tendons, muscles and bones all respond to it. It helps keep these tissues hydrated and springy, supports muscle repair, and helps keep inflammation in check. As oestrogen levels rise and fall, then settle lower, many people find their joints feel stiffer and their muscles take longer to bounce back.
This is also why the aches can feel unpredictable. They often move around, so it might be your hands one week and your hips the next. Notice how your sleep, stress and, if you still have periods, your cycle may link with your aches. Your VIDA pain check-in can help you spot your own patterns over time.
The encouraging part is that joints and muscles respond well to movement at any age. Getting the right kind of movement at the right point in your day can make a real difference.
Your joints like movement. Cartilage, the smooth cushioning at the ends of your bones, has no direct blood supply. It relies on movement to circulate the fluid that keeps it nourished, which is why stiffness often eases once you get going.
Something to try before you start your day:
If you would like a guided stretch to follow, VIDA has short videos you can work through at your own pace.
Once you have eased into the morning, the next step is to stop stiffness building again. It tends to creep back when you stay in one position for a long time, which is easy to do when the meetings stack up.
You could try standing for phone calls, taking the stairs, or walking to refill your water between meetings. Short bursts of movement spread through the day often help more than one long session at the end of it, and they are easier to fit into a busy day.
Morning movement and regular breaks help with how you feel day to day. Strength work is what helps over the longer term. Of everything researchers have looked at, it has some of the most consistent evidence for midlife, supporting both muscles and bones. n one trial, women who took up strength training three times a week saw their hot flushes drop by around 40% within a few months.
A good aim is some strength work on two days a week, and it does not have to mean a gym. Rising slowly from your chair without using your hands, or pressing up from the edge of your desk, both work the large muscles that support your joints.
These changes are common and well understood, and small, steady steps really can help.