Menopause Feet? Are They a Thing?

[Margritte]

I'm currently enjoying the menopause I'm using one swipe of hormone gel each day and feel fine, EXCEPT for my feet.

Joint pain was the reason I started HRT and it's really helped, except for the foot pain. For background, I'm an ex-ballet dancer, have had an untreated stress fracture in my left foot and two treated fractures in my right foot. I also had/ve plantar fasciitis in one foot.

I walk a lot, run etc, and I'm usually fine to do stuff, but the day afterwards, my feet are so painful and stiff I can barely walk normally.

Yesterday I walked around a city and park for 6 hours, and today my feet are so bloody painful, it's awful.

I've got a high pain threshold, I'm really active and it's getting me down a lot. Is menopause feet a thing? Can anyone relate to this? It seems to affect my arches and heels mainly.

Yes I can barely stand on my foot in the morning it need’s stretching and the cold bathroom floor is heaven. Once I get moving it easies off but it’s not great. My toe joint is really sore

I think less oestrogen can mean increased inflammation - I work 12hr shifts (and buy bloody expensive shoes for it) but my feet sometimes ache (the bottoms, arches and heels generally) - I think plantar fasciitis can be worse during meno.

I am also relatively fit and very active but, alas, the bastard meno symptoms persist - currently experiencing random skin sensitivity.

I think eating anti inflammatory foods and stuff like cod liver oil helps.

I wish you well 🤗

Oh my days. Yes. It is. My feet are so incredibly sore. Even sitting for an hour I get up and it's like rigamortis has set in. The pain. Unbearable.
Mornings are just as bad. I found hrt made them so much worse. Currently trying glucosamine and turmeric and black Pepper supplements. Couple of weeks in and no improvement yet.

I feel your pain

Oh God, thank you for sharing. I'm so sorry that you're all suffering, but it feels like a relief that it's not just my knackered feet.

I'm going to try anything that you all suggest - Cod liver oil and TwoHoots supplements in my amazon basket!

Sounds to me like you don’t have menopause feet at all. It’s over-use and wear and tear. If you’ve had stress fractures and plantar fasciitis, why would you put your feet through 6 hours of walking? Ballet is notoriously tough on feet in later years. I think your poor feet need some rest and tlc, not to be pounded by running and hours of walking. Sounds like osteoarthritis across the foot. Which is wear and tear related. I would rest your feet more and take anti inflammatories. DH has it, from years on his feet working and has been told to give them a chance. In two weeks he is having steroid injections into the foot. You’ve likely worn away the cartilage in your feet leaving bone rubbing on bone. As we age, we can’t put our bodies through everything we used to and expect it not to hurt. I’d get them looked at and please no more running ….. try lots of swimming if you like to exercise a lot.

Please can I join in the pity party? Both my feet are agony - first thing in the morning and after any period of sitting. I get up and stagger for the first few steps. Once moving around I'm fine and pain is minimal but it's agony to get walking again. GP
Upped my oestrogen and I've started some supplements but nothing is really helping 😢

Omg my feet are so so painful. Had never realised it was down to meno. My pain is just like yours, OP.

Thanks hedgehog I appreciate your reply. I do think ballet is a factor, but I've been retired for well over 10 years now, and the problems only started in the last 12 months, along with the menopause. I accept that the general knackeredness of my feet might be amplifying things.

I only walked for 6 hours because I had a bunch of kids to organise in a field trip btw, it's not my usual thing at all

Oh gosh, it really is a thing, I'm 41 and experiencing pain in both feet, much like what every other poster is describing. I also get awful pain if I squeeze my feet around the middle. It's like they're so tender and sore. Some days are worse than others, and I think I have noticed a reduction in the pain when I cut out sugar.

It's awful though, and my mum had it for years during her menopause. Joy 😫

Mine went with tumeric supplements. I am not on HRT.

Yes, I notice a difference if I have sugar or alcohol - definitely worse.

Azure I think I've got some turmeric capsules somewhere. I'll try them - that's really encouraging.

Can definitely relate. First few steps are always a bit of a hobble. And my feet just seem to have got bigger - or my arches have fallen making my feet flatter and wider.

There’s a lovely Yoga with Adriene for the feet….feels blissful for tired, sore feet

Oh wow, I LOVE Adrienne. Brilliant, I'll do that. I didn't know about her feet practice!

Yes, my feet used to hurt as I got out of bed. So sore and so tender. I think I also strained a set of ligaments in my left foot at one point. A podiatrist made to measure orthotic sorted it. Then I broke a metatarsal and I reckon the soreness and swelling took a year to sort itself out.

They have been fine for ages now but I am careful about arch support and more sensible shoes now.

My feet were really painful when I first stood up on a morning, then it wore off as the day went on.
It wasn't anything to do with the menopause, it was plantar.
Once the podiatrist got my footwear sorted, it went away.

I had terrible footpain every morning. Could barely walk to the bathroom but by the time l was out of the shower it had eased. Blamed standing all day for years as a teacher. I never had an injury but played lots of sports all my life. Got good , proper orthotics and use them in most shoes and it has made a huge difference. I associated it more with aging than menopause but saying that my dh after a lifetime of sport/ standing hasn't one issue with his feet. It's really my only issue and was also my mom's only issue so you are perhaps right. I don't take HRT. Seeing a properly trained foot specialist is definitely worth it.

Yes 🙌 my people!

i wake every morning with such tight feet and calves, I now do a series of gentle calf stretches just to be able to walk. Much worse after I have been running. I wear support shoes for running anyway, but I’m considering custom insoles if it continues because it really is painful.

I also find the skin of my feet is just so sore and dry, the tips of my toes and around my nails- just agony. I think it must be a circulation type thing? A few weeks ago I was convinced I had damaged the metatarsal on my little toe joint, it was so painful-but no, it was actually the skin on my sole had cracked, it then cracked the other side as well. I bought some cheap cracked heel lotion from Superdrug, I now use that every night and wear socks over the top and they feel much better.

I hadn’t appreciated how the menopause had affected my ankle joints (rest of my feet were ok) until I started HRT and hopped out of bed days after!

I had painful feet like this and in the end smothered them with ibuprofen gel 4x a day and it went away in a few days. Also try vitamin d, also are you drinking enough water/fluid.

A related question - can anyone recommend a particularly soothing, pain - relieving cream to massage into feet after an extra demanding day? Not keen on Body Shop spray. Thanks!

When I was in early menopause i got tendonitis in my feet, which was so bad I ended up on crutches. After a couple of years (it was only really bad for a couple of weeks) it went!

Mine have been very painful, especially on waking. Luckily I’m an acupuncturist so some well placed needles have reduced it considerably!! Would def recommend acupuncture if you have this, and other menopausal symptoms.

Sugar most definitely makes me feel achey and sore. Why is that?

Collagen, glucosamine and omega 3 supplements have really helped.
Meno feet is definitely a thing.

Yes my ankles in the morning...proper rigor mortis as someone said. I also have really itchy feet!!! Not always but usually when i sweat or get flustered. The itching is horrendous... exfoliating and cream no effect. (Just one of many symptoms)