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Why do women seem get an onset of joint pain and aches in midlife, especially in the morning?
Neck pain, shoulder pain, wrist and ankle pain, achilles and back pain. In my years as a Personal Trainer I have seen active fit women stumble into their 40's and experience a sudden onset of pain that prevents them from the sports and activities they love (skiing/tennis/running are the clear ones.) Why is this? And why does it happen at around age 45+ years and can it be prevented? My knees and hips are good! But I suffer repeatedly with ankle pain and/or shoulder issues.
Repetitive movement patterns
The mechanical load on the body increases as we age. The collagen fibres dry out, becoming less elastic and more prone to injury. General wear and tear from repeated patterns of movement eventually lead to restriction. We cease to 'stretch to the edge' because we are afraid of injury, thus moving even less; in more restricted ways; less consistently; in less strenuous ways and without challenging ourselves. Thus, the restrictive movement patterns get even smaller.
Davis's Law - The shrinking bubble
There is less slide and glide and with decreased movement comes less mobility.
Davis' Law states: "Soft tissue models along imposed demands." meaning that soft tissue exists, performs and heals according to the demands and ways it is being stressed.
Unless mobility is challenged, we are going to lose it. The key human mobility hotspots are the shoulder, lumbar and pelvic mobility, thoracic mobility, foot and ankle mobility. We need to be aware of the importance of strengthening and mobilising these joints as we get older.
Changes in the Endocrine system.
With age we dry out. By mid life we are 67-72% water and this decreases with age, Hydration is really important to keeping skin, endocrine system and fascia youthful! The decline in oestrogen negatively affects tendon metabolism. In the wrists, hips, ankles and spine - where we have more mobile bone tissue we are losing oestrogen receptors! Elevated blood sugar, through poor diet, wine time or insulin resistance can mean excess sugars attach to proteins, leading to toxic waste and end products that cause inflammation, hardening of tendon fibres, pain and atherosclerosis.
Stress
Show me a woman who is relaxed! An inability to rest, fractured sleep, an overworked cortisol system due to stress overload, may mean the body has little time to repair. The receptors in our skin are looking out for information and all they receive is" ...help I'm over loaded" so the feedback to the nervous system = release more cortisol...
What to do? Commit and be consistent!
Move, breathe, swim, foam roll, stretch, find yoga or pilates. Unless mobility is challenged we are going to lose it and it is important to address the exercise patterns we are currently in and add variety. Stimulating the mechanical side of the body in new and different ways will help maintain flexibility. For 30 years I lifted weights, then became a runner. Yes, I was fit but everything was in the same direction. Not until I was 51 did I begin yoga and re wire my body into twisting, breathing, extending, rotating, balancing. I also introduced rolling, resting and massage as part of my training plan to keep me out of the physio room.
The quicker we realise that diet and exercise has to change to counter the effects of oestrogen loss and reduced mobility on the joints, the better. It is within our ability to fight back. Commit to consistency. I only wish I had started much earlier.
I'd love to hear what you need help with? Leave a comment about your aches and pains, stresses and diet OR what you find really helps you....
Resources: wikipedia.org/wiki/Davis%27s_law; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOzsDItW7Bs; Anatomy Trains: Thomas W Myers; https://burrell-education-courses. The Lymphatic System: Dr Arianne Missimer: