How much pain is normal?

[Flippingflamingo]

At almost 40, how much pain in day to day activities is to be expected as a “getting older” thing?

I was recently chatting/moaning to a friend about the pain in getting up and about these days and was surprised to find she didn’t experience any!

I find getting up from seating painful, sciatica and pain in my legs mean walking anywhere is painful, my back and neck constantly ache and my fingers and wrists are useless for the first hour in a morning. None of it is stopping me ploughing on through and doing things anyway, but it’s starting to get me down a bit.

I just wondered whether most people experience mild/moderate pain daily at this age, or whether it’s something that I actually need to seek medical advice on!

I’m fit, runner. Started getting very sore legs, hips, knees. A few weeks on hrt and it was all gone…

I'm in my 50s. At your age I had no pain at all and that was true throughout my 40s. I now have arthritis in my hands so I sometimes have painful joints but that fluctuates and is equivalent pain wise to a bruise (i.e. completely manageable).

55 and no pain yet - I don't do any exercise although don't drive, so walk everywhere. My sister's 12 years older than me and goes on walking holidays every year - I don't think she has any pains. Neither of us are on HRT.

I have been pain free apart from couple years at 48 with few joint aches from menopause. Then all good till I damaged my back 8 weeks ago but that’s an injury. I could easily walk 10 miles till then.

I was like this too (not sciatica though) and after having long Covid and a crap knee the doctor said basically use it or lose it, the horrible circle of you’re wrecked and sore so don’t get up and out for walks, don’t stretch, swim, even dance etc. I now walk twice a day (have a dog) and have also started taking vitamin d and a year later I’m rarely sore and definitely never as bad.

I agree. I'd expect pain at 60 but not at 40. I'm 44 I've started to noticed it takes me longer to recover from a run or gym session, and I have twinges when doing certain exercises. But that's when I push my body not day to day. I'd see the GP.

At your age it's not normal. From 55 onwards perhaps.
I started with aches and pains at 52, early stages of osteoarthritis and was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis at 58.
I'm 66 now and have pain on waking in my feet, intermittent back pain and constant pain in my hands.
I've also had a bulging disc so get sciatica.
RA classically is worse on waking and improves over the day. Have you been tested for inflammatory disorders?

Low folate stops the absorption of B12. Have a look at FB group B12 wake up. No pain is the norm! I have chronic health conditions so unfortunately have daily pain but private B12 jabs help my leg pain

I have fibromyalgia. So it was normal to me. But it got worse earlier this year but since starting HRT, it's much better. I am 46 now and it's been clear I'm in peri menopause.

I used to be you OP until I realised I was chock full of oxalates and the pain related to that. I'm 63 and I can do hours of physical work without pain now.

Dumping the oxalates was a nightmare I won't lie but had I not done so, I would still be in pain.

Sally K Norton on YouTube is a mine of information so if you drink a lot of tea, eat a lot of citrus or spinach, rhubarb or any other high oxalate foods and think this might be part of the problem, just eat meat for a fortnight and if you start peeing cloudy painful urine, you have your answer and you can do a deeper dive into this issue.

I don't think that's normal. I had some neck and shoulder pain in my late 30s from carrying a heavy bag around and had some physio on that, but nothing else. I'm now a decade further on and still have no daily pain but I do feel a bit stiff if I don't do yoga for a few days in a row. It's not pain though.

I'm in my 50s but have had constant pain of some type since my 20s. I'm hypermobile so it could be that, plus the odd strain injury.

Does sound incredibly early to be suffering so young.

I'm 63, overweight and have the occasional twinge in my hips first thing in the morning, which started a year or so ago. I can also have sciatica, and thumb joint pain too but that can be at anytime not just first thing.

I'd get yourself checked over, and start on some gentle exercise, such yoga or T'ai Chi.

Arthritis is very much like this In the mornings takes a good hour to get going , if u have any swolllen joints or tenderness I would ask g.p for bloods check inflammation markers x

almost 50, no pain. Not sure how typical that is. I do exercise once or twice a week, eat healthy, not overweight. I am on HRT too.

I’m 44 and have stage 3 cancer and apart from the cancer, I don’t have any aches and pains.

I did, however, have lots at 37/38, joint pain, pain getting out of bed, muscle pain. It was vitamin D deficiency.

I'm 63 and I don't experience the sort of pain you describe OP.

We walk a lot (~5 miles per day weather permitting) and I do Pilates once a week - I may get a bit of muscle pain following a more intense workout but no more than I'd expect.

I was in a lot of pain prior to starting hrt. I hadn't connected the two things, thought it was ageing. I was amazed when the pains all disappeared after about 6 months on hrt. Probably needed it from age 40 but didn't realise. Lots of women get diagnosed with fibromyalgia in perimenopause.

No, that's not normal.

Have you been tested for any vitamin deficiencies? If you don't like vegetables there could be some stuff you're deficient it.

I'm 58 and the only problem I have is with my left knee which I do exercises for in the morning but by the end of the day, it is uncomfortable, but not painful as such.

I am not overweight, but on the limit of normal weight.

I'm very unwell but don't really have extreme pain. I manage it with pain relief. The pain you're suffering from sounds like arthritis or fibromyalgia or something? I hope you can seek medical help for it. I've got really bad osteopetrosis in my mid 40s. I don't think you should have to live in that much pain. I've got quite a few health reasons why I'm like this in my mid 40s. But I'd say most people in that age group who are well shouldn't struggle in the ways you mention. Wishing you well x

My aches and pains disappeared mostly when I got my thyroid meds correct, and disappeared completely when I started taking high-strength omega 3.

Generic aches and pains can be a symptom of quite a lot of different things and are not normal at your age.

@Flippingflamingo “ normal” is highly subjective (I’ve had patients still working in their 80’s ,riding bikes in their 90’s and other people struggling badly in their 50’s and 60’s ,including me!) think of it this way….you may have another 40 yrs plus to live so taking action now is important! Many women start to struggle with aches and pains in their 40’s onwards, hormonal changes and conditions like thyroid problems can be to blame, HRT will be very helpful to some but like anything, this is also when lifestyle factors as well as genetics start to catch up with people. I would certainly be booking in for a physio appointment if you have back ache and sciatica but if multiple joints continue to be an issue your GP may be able to advise.

Doesn't sound normal to me tbh

I'm 20 years older than you, post-menopausal. I get discomfort in my hands quite often and occasionally achy muscles if I've done exercises other than my usual walking - but I can't say that I get actual pain as an every day thing.

I know it can be common to get discomfort and even pain in your 50s, and I've known a few people who've had this, but I wouldn't pass it off as simply a sign of getting older in your late 30s.