Menopause and pain: What is the relationship?

There will be more than 1 billion women undergoing menopause by 2025, as per Forbes. These women will comprise 12% of the world’s population, which is about 8 billion. If this happens as predicted, it will be a revolutionary time for women’s health. When it comes to this stage in life, what exactly does it involve? More specifically, what is the relationship between menopause and pain?

What is menopause?

Menopause is a body condition that women undergo after the age of 45. It is a natural aging process, and the first stage is named perimenopause.

The body condition marks the end of the reproductive years. After experiencing 12 consecutive months without menstruating and no longer being able to naturally get pregnant, she is in menopause.

The average age of a woman experiencing menopause in North America is 51, according to The North American Menopause Society, also known as NAMS. Natural menopause typically happens between 40 and 58 (NAMS).

Menopause tends to trigger different hormones. That affects bodily functions, including:

1. Skin
2. Bones
3. Vaginal tract
4. Brain
5. Bones
6. Reproductive system
7. Heart
8. Urinary system

Gaining weight during menopause is also common. Find out more about proper nutrition during menopause.

Different hormonal changes experienced during menopause

Interestingly, hormones regulate your menstrual cycle. There is both a follicle phase and luteal phase, as well as ovulation, of course.

The luteinizing hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone are produced through the pituitary gland of a woman’s body. It stimulates the ovaries to fasten up the production of progesterone and estrogen. When a woman enters menopause, excessive pain can result as these hormones fluctuate.

Menopause and pain: What kinds and what to expect?

It’s common for a woman to experience acute body pain during menopause. This factor somewhere makes it similar to period and pregnancy. Some common types of pain experienced during menopause are:

Migraine or headache

Consistent fluctuations in estrogen levels in the body are associated with migraines or headaches. That is the reason why most women experience migraines when entering the perimenopause state.

This raises the need to maintain good menopause wellness keeping all precautionary measures in mind. A woman is expected to feel irritated during this stage which can be considered a significant sign of menopause.

Breast tenderness

A woman may feel breast tenderness and slight cramps after the pregnancy stage. This is a painful stage that comes with many body changes due to the sudden hormonal shift.

Bruising

Declining and fluctuating hormones leave a drastic change on the body’s outer layer. This way, the low levels of estrogen and progesterone decrease the elasticity of the skin.

Moreover, it reduces the skin’s potential to retain a sufficient amount of water. As a result, your skin may look thinner, and you become more prone to bruises and wounds.

Menopause, pain, and fibromyalgia

Women who have fibromyalgia and are in menopause can experience some unbearable pain conditions. Fibromyalgia comes with vaginal dryness, pain, fatigue, and much more. Generally, women experience it all in the initial stage of menopause, which is called perimenopause.

Conclusion

It’s common to relate menopause and pain as this natural life event leads to body aches frequently. As you experience physical and psychological changes, check with your doctor to ensure what you are experiencing is normal. It’s best to let the doctor know before the pain worsens and to catch it if it signifies something major.