Physical wellness
The stiffness that takes longer to ease
By Dr Marylyn Poynter ·
A lot of women tell me the same thing: the stiffness in their hands or knees used to ease by mid-morning, and now it doesn't. It's tempting to file that under 'getting older' and move on.
It isn't only that. Oestrogen has receptors in cartilage, tendons and the joint lining itself, and as levels fall across the menopause transition, those tissues lose some of their usual resilience. Data from the SWAN cohort, which followed 949 women over nine years, points in this direction.
That's a hormonal shift with a physical signature. It is not a character flaw, and it is not simply the clock.
I'm not going to tell you a single supplement fixes this. I am going to keep naming what's actually happening, because understanding the cause is the first step to responding to it well.
If a joint is hot, swollen or very painful, or the stiffness lasts more than an hour each morning, please see your doctor, as these can be signs of an inflammatory condition that needs checking.
Sources
- Janssen et al., Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN), Archives of Internal Medicine, 2008 (n = 949, nine-year follow-up).
This article is educational and does not replace medical advice. Please talk to your doctor or healthcare provider about any symptoms that concern you.