Turns Out Oestrogen May Play A Surprising Role In Joint Health

In a recent Instagram Reel, Dr Preyasi Kothari, who specialises in hormone health, made an admission. 

“To every woman with a chief complaint of shoulder pain. I’m sorry,” she wrote in the caption. 

Frozen shoulder is a common complaint among people experiencing menopause or menopause. Speaking to HuffPost UK previously, physical therapist Dr Caryn McAllister said that research suggests “a direct relationship between loss of hormones and prevalence of adhesive capsulitis,” or frozen shoulder.

“I didn’t connect your shoulder to your hormones because nobody taught me that oestrogen receptors are EVERYWHERE, including in your joint tissue,” Dr Kothari continued.

So what’s actually going on with oestrogen and our joints? 

Why might oestrogen affect joints? 

As Dr Kothari said, there are indeed oestrogen receptors in our joints.

Some people who face a decline in oestrogen levels, be it through menopause or medication, experience joint pain. 

In fact, as many as 60% of women who go through the change experience menopausal arthralgia, or joint pain, especially in their hands and feet.

“Oestrogen helps to reduce inflammation and friction in our joints,” Bupa explained. 

So, when oestrogen is lower, arthritis-like stiffness may occur.

Researchers also think that oestrogen might slow cartilage turnover.

When cartilage turnover is too rapid, it could wear down the tissue, which works as a kind of shock absorber between your joints. 

Scientists have previously noted “significant differences” between men’s and women’s cartilage turnover rates (women are more likely to develop arthritis), and those between pre- and post-menopausal women.

Does that mean HRT can improve bone health? 

The NHS said that hormone replacement therapy (HRT) “can help relieve most menopause and perimenopause symptoms, including hot flushes, brain fog, [and] joint pains”. 

A 2013 paper found that “oestrogen alone use in postmenopausal women results in a modest but sustained reduction in the frequency of joint pain,” and some research suggests that there ight be a link between HRT use and lower incidence of hand osteoarthritis. 

But we don’t yet have enough information to say for sure that it definitely lowers the risk of hand osteoarthritis, or that HRT will always lower joint pain.

Speak to your GP if you’re worried about joint pain or any menopause-related symptom.