What is with the shoulder thing ?

[Dingaling47]

Along with hot flushes, anxiety and erratic period timing, I suddenly developed shoulder issues. I've been having physio for it forever (slightly dramatic overstatement). It gets a little better then a little worse, doesn't really fix.

I see so many posts from women on menopause forums with shoulder issues.

Why? Why on earth does low estrogen single out shoulders like this. I sort of know the answer to this really but it's just bloody annoying !

Is there any actual fix for it ?

I'm already on high dose HRT, do regular sensible exercise, not overweight, eat well etc and I'm only 41. It's hard to blame aging or lifestyle factors. I don't even drink alcohol anymore for god's sake !

Oh, and I also have a hip issue now.

We're basically just held together by estrogen, is that the issue ?! I don't even have persistently low estrogen, it's just fluctuating a lot.

WHYYYYYYYYY

(Apologies for the whining)

Estrogen helps keep connective tissues elastic and the shoulder has more range of movement than any other joint. Therefore it's more vulnerable to injury when tendons etc. become stiffer and more inflamed, but like your knees, the problems can affect any joint.

Physio exercises, ice, marine collagen and anti-inflammatories have helped my badly frozen shoulder and it's now (after a few months) mostly back to normal.

Thank you for that perfectly sensible response to my complaining.

I looked at using collagen... How much do you rate that as being a factor in it improving? If you don't mind me asking.

Mine is a rotator cuff issue, it has been several years now of flare and recede, despite endless physio.

I do also have issues with multiple tendons in the hip area, so I really feel it's a systemic thing which has changed.

My gym instructor brought exactly this up this morning! She runs a circuit class, mostly middle aged women, lots of ‘who’s got what minor injury this week’.

She said she has always done what she called ‘pre-hab’ - basically the same exercises that a physio will give you for rotator cuff pain. Obv not all shoulder injuries are rotator cuff but there’s been a lot of it in our class.

It was a very early morning class so I wasn’t fully awake, but she sounded sensible to me, suggesting if you don’t move an area much or in the right ways, that you’re more likely to develop issues, so even if you don’t have any issues yet, do the ‘pre-hab’ and you may stave them off a bit.

I found the collagen very helpful. I notice an increase in pain and my shoulder starts 'clicking', if I don't take it for a week or two.

My DH also takes it and finds it helps, he has severe arthritis in his shoulders as well as rotator cuff issues, due to repeated historic dislocations. We even give it to our dog and her occasional stiffness upon standing up has totally gone (7 year old large breed dog), which probably isn't down to placebo effect lol.

We take: Multi Collagen Protein Powder (1kg) - Types I, II, III, V & X - Hydrolyzed Grass Fed Bovine, Wild Caught Fish, & Free-Range Chicken & Eggshell Collagen by Revive Naturals, but any collagen that includes a mix of collagen types should help, if it's going to work for you.

Thank you, very much appreciated

Thanks for sharing that ! Firstly because, although I'm sorry to hear there's a bunch of middle aged women with shoulders, it does feel reassuring to know it's a commonly known thing.

Do you know what the pre-hah exercises are? Might be a bit late for 'pre'-hab mind you...

Follow-up question... Is there anything else I ought to be 'pre-habbing' before it's too late?!

Have a google of capsulitis of the shoulder (frozen shoulder) and hydrodilatation.

Me too! My Dr won't use the term "frozen shoulder" but I had an MRI & X ray which showed calcification of the tendons. Did physio, took anti-inflammatories, had injections which helped for a bit but two and a half months later, the pain and stiffness are returning - must try collagen!

I think it’s also just an age thing that joints become troublesome in middle age. If you’ve had a lot of physio and no improvement there might be something mechanical wrong. You can ask for a referral for a scan. I had similar and I had a torn tendon, now repaired.

Thank you all - it's much appreciated.

Is the shoulder actually frozen as in hard to move in frozen shoulder ?

My Mum had it (around my age I think) she keeps telling me it was agonising and so stiff she couldn't move it, then she went to one yoga session and it fixed it. (It's really quite irritating to hear this repeatedly as I have tried yoga for much more than one session !). Mine isn't really restricted, it's just painful.

I hear frozen shoulder a lot, but I don't really think I have restricted movement - just stiff and painful in the back of the shoulder, down the outside of my arm and in the underarm area.

Thank you... I'm only 41 so I felt I was a bit young for it to be just age yet. Perhaps not !

When I had a frozen shoulder it was so restricted i couldn’t put my hair up, couldn’t put a tshirt on and could barely wipe my arse. If yours isn’t restricted it doesn’t sound like a frozen shoulder so a rotator cuff issue sounds more likely. Have you had an mri to see if it’s torn?

If the rotator cuff issue torn it’ll very likely need surgery, they don’t tend to heal on their own. So the MRI is important.

Can you lower your arm in a controlled manner if you hold it out to the side?

https://www.physio-pedia.com/Drop_Arm_Test

I’ve had shoulder, hip, knee and wrist issues (post meno). Bloody awful. It’s all oestrogen deprivation I think. I’ve paid ££££ in physio fees. When my shoulder was frozen and painful, the NHS wait was several months.

I went from a rotator cuff problem to frozen shoulder. That was a long 2.5 years.

Lots of other tendon issues too.

Fuck menopause!

I’ve been suffering with a frozen shoulder! I’d read somewhere it can last around 3 years but I’m into my third year at least. It’s not as bad as it was before HRT (when I was swallowing tablets like they were smarties!) but I find when I’m on the second 2 weeks of my patches it hurts more. Hardly bothers me when I’m on the first 2 weeks.

I do think Vitamin D is important for anything joint-related so it's worth checking your levels are good. I find my hip hurts when mine goes too low.