Does menopause cause joint pain? Muscle and joint aches

What does menopause joint pain feel like?

During the menopause transition, many people notice that their joints hurt more, that they feel stiff in the morning, or that their muscles ache. Your knees, hands, shoulders, hips or lower back may hurt. Sometimes it is not one particular joint but your whole body that feels tired and achy.

The medical term for joint pain is “arthralgia.” A joint can hurt even without swelling or inflammation.

The NHS lists muscle aches and joint pain among the symptoms of menopause and perimenopause (NHS, Symptoms). The Menopause Society also lists mild joint aches and pains among the changes that can happen around menopause (The Menopause Society, Symptoms).

How common is joint pain in menopause?

This question does not concern a small group. A 2024 review estimates that more than 47 million women worldwide enter the menopause transition every year. The same review reports that more than 70 percent of women going through the menopause transition have musculoskeletal symptoms. “Musculoskeletal” means the system made up of muscles, bones, joints and connective tissue. According to the same review, about 25 percent of women are seriously affected by these symptoms over the stretch from perimenopause to after menopause (Wright et al., 2024).

The authors stress that these symptoms often go unrecognized. They propose bringing problems such as joint pain, loss of muscle mass, loss of bone density and the progression of osteoarthritis (wear-and-tear arthritis) together under one umbrella. They call this the “musculoskeletal syndrome of menopause” (Wright et al., 2024). The aim is to help both women and clinicians see the link between these complaints and menopause more easily.

Why does menopause cause joint and muscle pain?

The same review notes that these symptoms are largely linked to fluctuating and falling estrogen levels. Muscle, bone and joint tissue are affected by this change (Wright et al., 2024).

Joint and muscle pain often does not come alone. In the US SWAN study, the symptoms reported over the years by 3,289 women were examined. Pain appeared in the same symptom clusters as hot flashes, tiredness and sleep problems (Harlow et al., 2017). You may notice that the pain is more noticeable during periods when you sleep badly. We cover the sleep side separately: Menopause insomnia.

The same study points to one more thing: some of the symptoms were already there before menopause, at the start of midlife, and stayed similar for many women over the years (Harlow et al., 2017). So it may not be right to put every ache down to menopause alone.

How does it affect daily life?

Joint and muscle pain may look like “a mild ache,” but it can clearly affect your life. Wright and colleagues stress that these musculoskeletal changes have a significant impact on quality of life, and that their personal and financial burden is not small either (Wright et al., 2024).

In the SWAN study, too, women with marked symptoms in many areas rated their health as “fair” or “poor” more often than those with fewer symptoms. Being in these high-symptom groups was strongly linked with financial hardship, excess weight and smoking (Harlow et al., 2017).

These findings tell you something: there is no need to downplay your pain. If climbing stairs, standing for a long time or picking up a child or grandchild feels harder than it used to, it is worth telling your clinician. Giving concrete examples of how often the pain happens and what it stops you from doing makes the appointment more productive.

What about your bones?

Pain and bone thinning (osteoporosis) are not the same thing. But both come up in the same period. The NHS also lists loss of bone density among menopause symptoms and notes that it can lead to osteoporosis (NHS, Symptoms). We cover this in a separate guide: Bone health and menopause.

What can cause joint pain besides menopause?

Joint pain has many causes besides menopause. The NHS lists these (NHS, Joint pain):

• Sprains and strains
• Osteoarthritis (wear-and-tear arthritis)
• Inflammation of the fluid-filled sacs around a joint (bursitis)
• Rheumatoid arthritis: a disease in which the immune system attacks the joints
• Gout: high uric acid in the blood building up in a joint
• Joint infection (septic arthritis)

The NHS advises not trying to diagnose yourself and seeing your family doctor (GP) if you are worried (NHS, Joint pain). Telling these apart is done through a doctor’s examination and, if needed, tests such as blood tests or imaging. Being in menopause does not mean another joint disease cannot start at the same time.

Some signs cannot be explained by menopause. Swelling and warmth around a joint can be a sign of infection. A fever, chills or feeling generally unwell also need attention (NHS, Joint pain). Pain that starts suddenly and severely in a single joint, unexplained weight loss or marked weakness also need to be assessed.

What can you observe yourself?

This information is useful when you see your clinician:

• Which joints hurt? One side or both sides?
• When did the pain start? Is it every day, or some days?
• Are you stiff when you get up in the morning? How many minutes does it last?
• Is there swelling, warmth or redness in the joint?
• Does the pain disturb your sleep or daily tasks?
• Does the pain get worse on days after you sleep badly?
• Have your periods changed?

How long the morning stiffness lasts is especially important. The NHS lists stiffness lasting more than 30 minutes after waking up among the reasons to see a doctor (NHS, Joint pain).

What can make a difference in daily life?

For joint pain, the NHS advises resting the joint but not stopping movement altogether. It also mentions applying an ice pack wrapped in a towel for up to 20 minutes every 2–3 hours. In the longer term, it recommends losing excess weight, eating a balanced diet, exercising regularly and not smoking (NHS, Joint pain).

For your bones during menopause, the NHS recommends weight-bearing exercise such as walking, running or dancing, and resistance exercise such as lifting weights. It also lists a healthy diet that includes calcium sources such as milk, yogurt and kale, getting a little sun on your skin, stopping smoking and cutting down on alcohol (NHS, Things you can do).

If you are in pain, it is a good idea to first talk to your clinician or a physical therapist (physiotherapist) about which exercise suits you. This page does not recommend any medicine or supplement for pain; options are discussed with your clinician.

When should you see a doctor about joint pain?

The NHS advises seeing your family doctor (GP) in these situations: the pain disturbs your daily tasks or your sleep, the pain or swelling is getting worse or keeps coming back, it hasn’t improved after two weeks of looking after it at home, or your morning stiffness lasts more than half an hour (NHS, Joint pain).

At the appointment, you can ask whether the pain is consistent with the menopause transition, whether tests are needed for a rheumatic disease, and whether your bone health should be assessed.