Today's topic
Today, I am answering, " Can the menopause cause back pain?" And the surprising answer is yes.
Now, one of my previous videos was all about leg pain. But today, I thought I would focus specifically on back pain because it's amazing how many menopausal women experience it and don't realise that it's connected.
Now, studies have shown that in perimenopause, back pain tends to increase and up to 50% of women can experience lower back pain throughout peri-menopause and menopause – that's a huge number of women.
What causes lower back pain to be some common during menopause?
So what are the main reasons for this back pain?
Weight gain
One of them, unfortunately, is we do tend to put on a bit more weight during the menopause and that can have quite a big impact on our back and our hips and that can be one of the major triggers for the back pain.
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Hormonal changes
It can be your hormones. We know that oestrogen is needed to keep your discs, and your ligaments, and your tendons nice and flexible. And as your oestrogen decreases, this can cause a shrinking of the spine, just ever so slightly. And that can then impact on both movement and flexibility of your spine as well.
That in itself can cause a lot of discomfort and back pain.
Stress and anxiety
It can be stress and anxiety. If we're stressed and anxious, especially if the stress and anxiety go on and on, the chemicals that are associated with the stress response are very inflammatory. And as time goes by, these inflammatory chemicals can whiz around the body and they can affect the joints anywhere. But obviously, quite a lot of them will focus on the spine.
Postural changes
It can be postural changes. If we are spending too long stuck at our desk, if we're not moving, if we're not getting a lot of exercise, then very often, especially the upper back can become affected.
But problems in the upper back can be transferred to the lower back. So you might spend all day hunching over your computer and think, "Oh, that's not too bad." But that pressure from here can end up putting pressure on the lower spine and you can end up with backache.
Dehydration
The other really important thing here which most people don't even associate with back pain is dehydration.
If you are dehydrated, which many women are during the menopause due to falling oestrogen and also due to flushes and sweats, that can put a lot of pressure on your kidneys. Your kidneys will struggle because of the dehydration. And that can very often give you lower backache, a kind of constant ache.
Very often, this one will be either side of the spine rather than just on the spine itself. So if you find that you're getting this kind of dull ache on both sides of your spine regularly, then it could be a sign that your kidneys are desperate for a good drink of water.
How to ease lower back pain during menopause
There are lots of simple things you can do to help ease lower back pain. These include:
Water
Be sure to drink plenty of water. As well as helping to hydrate the kidneys, it will make sure that your joints, your ligaments, and your tendons are staying hydrated as well. And that's going to have a positive benefit on any kind of backache that you may be experiencing.
Don't slouch
I know it's so easy to say that! I'm stuck at my computer a lot whilst I'm at home and I find that by the end of the day, my head is just about touching the desk because your posture and your awareness of your posture tends to decrease the more tired you are. But it is really important, just now and again, to give yourself a little bit of a check.
But it's not just your posture when sitting or when at a computer, it's when you are standing as well. We can end up slouching while we're waiting for the bus or waiting for the kettle to boil.
So, if you feel that your posture needs a little bit of improvement, there are loads of great videos on YouTube. You can look at things like the Alexander Technique. You can look at Pilates. These can be excellent to help you figure out where you're going wrong if you feel that your posture is getting worse.
Consider your sleep environment and position
Did you know that poor sleep can affect your back, especially if you have the wrong mattress or if you have the wrong pillows? So, it's a good idea now and again just to check. When did you change your mattress? They say you should buy a new one roughly every eight years.
What about your pillow? Is it too flat? Are you using too many pillows? Because either a pillow too flat or too many pillows will affect your neck and that can, again, cause problems lower down the back, too.
Some people tend to sleep on their stomachs and again, that can be quite bad. It puts your back in an unnatural position. If you need help finding the best sleep position have a look at our Muscles and Joints advisor Earle's article 'How to sleep better for back pain' lots of great tips.
Herbal helpers for back pain
Herbs you can look at, if you're getting a lot of inflammation, a lot of pain, there's a herb called devil's claw, which is a nice natural anti-inflammatory. And we have an arnica-based gel that's for pain relief on the joints, so that's something that you could try as well if you wish to go down that route.
My Top Tip:
Atrosan Devil's Claw tablets are best taken after food. If your joint pain is troublesome, start off with a higher dose. Take two tablets, twice daily for 3 to 5 days, then 1 tablet, twice daily.
"Really does deal with pain."
Stretching
This is so important. You know, when I'm at home, I'm trying to increase my stretching. When I was at work, I could run around the building every so often, whereas, at home, I'm much more restricted. I can only walk from my desk into the kitchen and back. So, I'm trying to do a little bit of stretching every single morning just to get everything nice and supple.
You can try a few of our simple stretches on our Get Active Hub to improve your flexibility and help your lower back pain.
Low-impact exercises
You can also look at low-impact exercises. Things like brisk walking and swimming (when lockdown is over) can be really helpful.
So I hope you found this one interesting.I certainly didn't realise that so many women in menopause can end up suffering from this, so this is a little bit of a surprise for me, too.
If any of you have any tips on how you ease your backache, we would love to hear them, so please let us know. And I'll see you again soon for another edition of A.Vogel Talks Menopause.
