25/03/2025
"The musculoskeletal syndrome of menopause"
- Wright V. J. et al.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13697137.2024.2380363
This is a great article, published last year. It looks to define the often unrecognized connection between women in midlife (peri/menopausal) and increases in joint pain, osteoarthritis, muscle and bone density loss. And acknowledge the role of estrogen and what happens as it decreases.
"The fall in estradiol levels leads to five primary changes (Table 1): an increase in inflammation, a decrease in bone mineral density leading to osteopenia/osteoporosis, arthritis, sarcopenia and a decrease in the proliferation of satellite cells (muscle stem cells)."
While HRT/MHT is put forward as an effective line of defense (and rightly so), it also says this:
"Among the various prevention and treatment approaches associated with menopause, exercise is perhaps the only non-controversial modality. Decreasing estrogen is associated with loss of type II muscle fibers and subsequently decreased power, which has been suggested as the primary measure for completing activities of daily living [Citation79–81]. Although there is at present a lack of concrete evidence among postmenopausal women regarding optimal weight training, it is generally acknowledged that resistance training with heavier weights in lower repetition sets tends to increase muscular power more effectively than training with lighter weights in higher repetition sets [Citation82]. "
Worth a read.....
**t
Fifty-one percent of humans are born with ovaries. As the ovarian production of estrogen diminishes in midlife and ultimately stops, it is estimated that more than 47 million women worldwide enter ...
