Moving Beyond Menopause

Menopause gets painted with a pretty dirty brush. Hot flushes, mood changes, vaginal dryness, weight gain, pelvic floor dysfunction and incontinence, joint pain, muscle weakness, sleep disturbance, loss of libido. So what to do? Is there a safe path through the mess that can be perimenopause?

Menopause has a known and generally negative impact on overall muscle and bone health. It is associated with osteoporosis (bones become weaker and brittle), osteoarthritis (degeneration of joints leading to pain, inflammation and stiffness) and sarcopenia (think muscle wasting or thinning and loss of muscle function. Sarcopenia can happen regardless of your weight or size too. All of these issues are contributed to by the primary driver of menopause – loss of the hormone oestrogen. Poor musculoskeletal health can progress to frailty and an increased risk of falls and fractures which in turn is associated with increased risk of death and other disease.