8 diet and exercise tips for women to follow during menopause to ease joint pains

Dr Miten Sheth, Orthopedic Knee Surgeon, The Knee Clinic, Mumbai, offers some tips to counter aches and pains during menopause.

By: Debjani Arora | | Published: January 9, 2018 7:21 pm

A woman s life is always governed by the hormonal changes she has to experience at various stages of her life puberty, pregnancy, peri-menopause and menopause. Of all these stages the hormonal changes happening during menopause affects her the most. As the production of the female hormones estrogen and progesterone drops it affects her health adversely. The hormonal changes induce a lot of physiological and physiological changes. Some of the common symptoms of menopause are spine and joint pain (body ache), hot flashes, night sweats, chronic fatigue; psychological symptoms can include irritation and anxiety, mood swings, depression and sleep disorders. Aches, stiffness and swelling around the joint are typical symptoms of menopause. Here are few other symptoms that indicate the onset of menopause. Also Read - Menopause may increase forgetfulness, lack of attention

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While there is very little that you can do to fight the hormones but a corrective lifestyle, proper diet and exercise can go a long way in countering the symptoms of menopause. The right diet during menopause will also help to keep the woman s weight in check and help in weight loss. Remember women who are overweight might have to deal with the wrath of menopause more excess weight leads to other problems like joint pains, brittle bones and fatigue. During menopause due to lack of enough estrogen bone health of a woman is most affected. As the bone density decreases joint pains become too common during menopause. Being overweight just adds to the problem, hence diet changes during menopause become necessary. Here is why weight gain during menopause os dangerous. Also Read - Breast cancer rates increasing rapidly around the world: Beware of the risk factors

Here Dr Miten Sheth, Orthopedic Knee Surgeon, The Knee Clinic, Mumbai, lists some diet and exercise tips to help women deal with problems during menopause.

Diet tips during menopause:

Eat a healthy and balanced diet, which includes plenty of fruits and vegetables. These contain natural antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties that can help to ease aches and pains and help your body get the micro and macronutrients necessary to counter the hormonal fluctuations.
If you are a non-vegetarian try to eat fish, as they contain omega-3 essential fatty acids which are thought to ease inflammation, particularly in the joints and improve bone health of menopausal women.
Reduce intake of refined carbohydrates and sugars as they lead to inflammation of the joints and aggravate pains.
Calcium and vitamin D are important for bone growth and maintenance and may help to prevent the loss of bone density during menopause. Calcium is vital for bone strength, while vitamin D helps with absorption of calcium in the body. Make sure you are eating calcium-rich foods like milk and dairy products to up your calcium intake. In case, you are lactose intolerant try other food sources that are rich in calcium.
Magnesium is another micronutrient which is vital for muscle function. It may, therefore, be an effective remedy for muscular aches and pains. So opt for foods that are rich in magnesium.

Exercise tips during menopause

The exercise program for postmenopausal women should include endurance (aerobic) exercises, strengthening and balance exercises.
Walking or simple stretches can help to reduce inflammation of the joints and counter the aches and pains.
Aerobics, weight bearing, and resistance exercises are effective at increasing the bone mineral density of spine in postmenopausal women.

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Published : January 9, 2018 7:21 pm

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