Menopausal muscle aches, joint pain and stiffness are common symptoms that can impact quality of life, and lead to women being less active.

It is important to keep moving; if this is limited by pain it’s good to try gentler forms of exercise like yoga and pilates, which also helps with bone strength and flexibility.

Maintaining a healthy weight, or reducing weight, takes the strain off joints and can reduce symptoms.

The perception of pain is worse with low mood and poor sleep, so addressing this if these are part of your menopause symptoms can be helpful also.

Oestrogen is important for the function of the musculoskeletal system, so adding this back in with HRT can be an important part of management. Symptoms can also be linked to other medical conditions, and it’s important if the pain is severe or is linked with any joint swelling or redness, to make an appointment to discuss this and potential HRT prescriptions with a doctor.