Could Low Estrogen Be Behind Your Joint Pain?

Although it’s not uncommon for joint pain and other symptoms of arthritis to appear during menopause, the media tends to focus on other symptoms like hot flashes, night sweats, and mood swings instead. Yet joint pain is often one of the reasons that women visit their doctors during this time. Joint pain may first come to light in the early stages of menopause, when estrogen levels begin to decline. And since estrogen can actually work as an anti-inflammatory in the body, the timing makes sense. It also helps explain why arthritis is much more common in women than in men. Bioidentical hormone replacement therapy can help boost declining estrogen levels, and in some cases afford some relief for joint pain. By restoring estrogen, evidence suggests that symptoms like joint pain and swelling may be alleviated. And even better news is that taking steps now to prevent hormone imbalance, before arthritis develops, could mean aging with more mobility and less pain. Read more…