The musculoskeletal syndrome of menopause.

Excerpts from an article in The New York Times:

The syndrome refers to a constellation of conditions and symptoms that become more prevalent during perimenopause and beyond, including joint pain, frozen shoulder, a loss of muscle mass and bone density, and worsening osteoarthritis, among other things. Research suggests that more than half of menopausal women may experience musculoskeletal symptoms, some of which are severe enough to be debilitating — yet health care providers often dismiss them as unavoidable parts of aging...

Starting in the menopause transition, women become more sedentary as a result of pain. The less they move, the less they are able to move — and the more frail they become, both in terms of cardiovascular health and in their muscles and bones. This puts them at a greater risk for falls and fractures, and often makes both surgery and recovery more challenging...

While a large body of scientific evidence suggests estrogen helps to keep bones robust and protect against osteoporosis, we don’t yet have the data to say for sure whether, or to what extent, the loss of estrogen is responsible for muscle and joint pain...

Several clinicians told the Times that, anecdotally, patients who start taking hormone therapy for approved conditions such as hot flashes or night sweats also report a decrease in muscle and joint pain and discomfort.

“We know that there are many things for which estrogen started early is beneficial,” Dr. Singer said. But, she added, “we just need to be careful not to jump too far ahead before there’s data there.”

As always there is more at the source link.