Aching More in Midlife? Let’s Understand Why.

You get out of bed and need a few moments to loosen up.

Your back feels uncomfortable after sitting. Your hips complain when you walk. An exercise you used to enjoy now leaves you wondering whether you should be doing it at all.

Perhaps you find yourself thinking:

“Is this menopause? Am I getting older? Or is something else going on?”

Those questions deserve more than “that’s just your age”.

With World Spine Day on 16 October and World Menopause Day on 18 October, this is a timely opportunity to talk about pain, movement and what appropriate support can look like.

This year’s themes — Spine Health for Life and Chronic Pain at Midlife — connect around an important message: understanding your symptoms can help you make informed decisions about your health.

Menopause can be part of the picture

The International Menopause Society’s 2026 factsheet reports that almost three in four women experience joint or muscle pain during perimenopause.

It describes how changing oestrogen levels, ageing, sleep disturbances and changes in pain processing can interact. Joint and muscle discomfort may occur alongside other symptoms, making everyday activities feel more demanding.

That helps explain why a woman who has always been active might suddenly feel less comfortable or confident in her body.

But it doesn’t tell us the cause of her individual symptoms.

New pain still deserves attention. Menopause should be part of the conversation, rather than the automatic answer to every ache.

Pain can change more than your movement

When something hurts, it can influence your decisions throughout the day.

You stop carrying the heavier shopping bag.

You avoid getting down on the floor.

You miss your class because you’re worried about making things worse.

Gradually, the list of things you feel confident doing becomes smaller.

This is why I want to understand what your symptoms mean in your life. Knowing that your back aches is useful. Knowing that you no longer feel confident lifting your grandchild tells me much more about what matters to you.

What has discomfort stopped you doing — or made you nervous about doing?

That is a valuable starting point.

Should you rest or keep moving?

There isn’t one answer for every type of pain.

The right approach depends on what is causing your symptoms, their severity and how they respond to activity. Some situations need medical assessment before we decide how to exercise.

For persistent joint and muscle pain around menopause, the International Menopause Society highlights regular activity, particularly strength-based exercise, as a useful part of management. It also recognises that care may involve several approaches and that improvement can take time.

That doesn’t mean pushing through every painful movement.

It means finding an appropriate starting point, choosing a manageable amount of activity and observing how your body responds.

Sometimes we change the exercise. Sometimes we change its range, resistance or duration. Sometimes we need another professional’s assessment.

The aim is to build your capacity and confidence through decisions that make sense for you.

Your back deserves more than a quick stretch

World Spine Day’s theme, Spine Health for Life, encourages ongoing attention to spinal health, including regular movement and physical activity.

In practice, I want to know how your back feels across your day.

Does discomfort build when you sit for a long time? Does walking feel easier? Are you apprehensive about bending? What happens when you lift, turn or reach?

These observations help us choose what to explore.

I also look at how the rest of your body participates in movement: your hips, legs, shoulders, balance and breathing.

There is no need to force everyone into an identical posture. We want movement options you can control, tolerate and gradually develop.

Strength has a practical purpose

Strength training isn’t only about lifting heavier weights in a gym.

It can help us work towards everyday goals: carrying shopping, climbing stairs, gardening, getting up from the floor and enjoying activities that matter to us.

The exercise needs to suit your starting point.

A movement might initially use a smaller range or extra support. As your capacity develops, we can progress its challenge.

For some people with mechanical low-back pain, supervised programmes that include deadlifts can improve pain and function. That doesn’t make the deadlift the answer for everyone, or a guarantee of pain relief. The person, the exercise and the progression all matter.

This is why an exercise name alone tells you very little about whether it is right for you.

Notice the pattern before changing everything

Before reaching for a completely new routine, spend a few days noticing what happens.

You could record:

• Where you feel discomfort and which activities bring it on.
• Whether gentle movement changes how you feel.
• How symptoms respond later that day and the following morning.
• Whether sleep has been disrupted.
• What you have begun avoiding.

This is information to help a conversation, rather than a way to diagnose yourself.

If pain is new, changing, worrying you or interfering with your sleep and daily activities, speak to your GP or an appropriate healthcare professional.

You deserve to have your concerns heard.

How Honest Body can help

My work starts with you: your symptoms, your goals and the movements you want to feel confident doing.

An Honest Body Assessment explores your movement, strength, mobility, balance and breathing, alongside your everyday habits and relevant health history.

From there, we can identify a suitable starting point, discuss where further assessment may be needed and build exercise around your individual needs.

For someone who feels apprehensive about moving, the first useful outcome may be clarity: understanding what we are working on, why it has been chosen and how we will review your response.

Progress might mean doing an everyday task more comfortably, moving with greater confidence or gradually tolerating a stronger exercise challenge.

Those outcomes deserve attention alongside any change in symptoms.

Let’s start with what matters to you

If you’re aching more in midlife, you don’t have to work out the whole answer alone.

What would you like to feel confident doing again?

Reply to my email and tell me what has changed, or book your Honest Body Assessment.

We’ll start by understanding where you are now, then identify the next appropriate step.

Your body isn’t the problem — it’s the starting point.