10/18/2026
Women with more menopause symptoms are nearly twice as likely to live with chronic pain.
That finding comes from a 2019 study of more than 200,000 health records of midlife women veterans, published in the journal Menopause.Gibson, C. J., et al. (2019). Menopause symptoms and chronic pain in a national sample of midlife women veterans. Menopause, 26(7), 708–713.
If your back, knee, or hip started aching around the same time your sleep changed, the timing may be worth noticing.
Estrogen affects how the body processes pain. Sleep and stress do too, and all three tend to shift in midlife.
Today is World Menopause Day, and this year’s theme is chronic pain in midlife. A clinician who understands menopause is a good first conversation. Movement that respects your pain can be part of what comes next.
My free guide, Rebuilding Joint Confidence, offers a place to start. It works alongside your doctor or PT.
Comment GUIDE and you’ll get in your DM’s,