How Hormones Affect Joint Pain in Women

If you’ve ever noticed your joints feel more achy at certain times of the month, during pregnancy, or around menopause—you’re not imagining it. Hormones play a powerful role in how our joints feel, function, and recover. For women especially, hormonal fluctuations across the lifespan can directly influence joint pain, stiffness, and injury risk.

Understanding this connection can help you make sense of your symptoms—and more importantly, guide smarter strategies to stay active and pain-free.

The Hormone–Joint Connection

Hormones are chemical messengers that affect nearly every system in the body, including muscles, ligaments, cartilage, and inflammation levels. The primary hormones that influence joint health in women include:

• Estrogen

• Progesterone

• Relaxin

• Cortisol

Changes in these hormones can impact joint lubrication, tissue elasticity, pain sensitivity, and healing capacity.

Let’s break down how each one affects your joints.

Estrogen: The Protector (Until It Drops)

Estrogen has a largely protective effect on joint health. It helps:

• Reduce inflammation

• Maintain cartilage health

• Support collagen production

• Improve joint lubrication

When estrogen levels are stable, many women experience better joint comfort and recovery. However, problems can arise when estrogen levels fluctuate or decline.

Low Estrogen and Joint Pain

During perimenopause and menopause, estrogen levels drop significantly. This can lead to:

• Increased joint stiffness

• Achy or sore joints, especially in the hands, hips, knees, and spine

• Greater inflammation

• Slower tissue healing

Many women report new joint pain during this stage of life—even without injury. This is one reason menopause-related joint pain is often misdiagnosed as arthritis or “just aging.”

Progesterone: The Stabilizer

Progesterone helps balance estrogen and has a calming effect on the nervous system. When progesterone levels drop (commonly during perimenopause), women may experience:

• Increased pain sensitivity

• More inflammation

• Worsening joint discomfort before periods

Low progesterone can also contribute to sleep disruption, which further amplifies pain perception and slows recovery.

Relaxin: Helpful, But Tricky

Relaxin is best known for its role during pregnancy, but it’s also present throughout the menstrual cycle—peaking after ovulation.

Its job is to increase ligament and connective tissue flexibility, which can be helpful in pregnancy but problematic at other times.

Higher relaxin levels can:

• Decrease joint stability

• Increase risk of sprains or joint irritation

• Contribute to feelings of “looseness” or instability

This is one reason some women feel more joint discomfort or injury-prone at certain points in their cycle.

Cortisol: Stress and Joint Pain

Cortisol is the body’s primary stress hormone. While it helps regulate inflammation in small amounts, chronically elevated cortisol can:

• Increase systemic inflammation

• Slow tissue healing

• Worsen pain perception

• Disrupt estrogen and progesterone balance

Chronic stress—whether physical, emotional, or hormonal—often worsens joint pain, especially in women juggling work, caregiving, and family demands.

Why Joint Pain Often Appears During Life Transitions

Women commonly notice joint pain during major hormonal shifts, including:

• Puberty

• Pregnancy and postpartum

• Perimenopause

• Menopause

During these times, fluctuating hormones affect tissue quality, muscle activation, and nervous system sensitivity—all of which influence how joints feel and function.

Importantly, joint pain during these stages is real, common, and treatable.

What You Can Do to Manage Hormone-Related Joint Pain

While you can’t eliminate hormonal changes, you can support your joints through smart lifestyle and movement strategies.

1. Strength Training Is Essential

Muscle strength provides stability when hormones increase joint laxity. Resistance training:

• Reduces joint stress

• Improves cartilage health

• Enhances pain tolerance

• Supports bone density

This is especially important during perimenopause and menopause.

2. Prioritize Joint-Friendly Movement

Low-impact activities like walking, cycling, swimming, and controlled strength exercises help nourish joints without excessive strain.

Avoid long periods of inactivity—movement helps lubricate joints and reduce stiffness.

3. Manage Stress and Sleep

Since cortisol and poor sleep worsen inflammation and pain:

• Prioritize consistent sleep routines

• Incorporate stress-reducing practices like walking, breathwork, or gentle yoga

• Avoid overtraining during high-stress periods

4. Support Recovery

Women in hormonal transition often need more recovery, not less. Listen to joint signals and avoid pushing through persistent pain.

5. Get Individualized Care

Hormone-related joint pain is often dismissed or generalized. Working with a provider who understands women’s health and biomechanics—like a physical therapist—can help identify:

• Movement imbalances

• Weakness contributing to joint stress

• Exercise modifications that actually feel good

The Takeaway

Hormones significantly influence joint pain in women—and symptoms often intensify during times of hormonal change. The good news? Joint pain doesn’t mean you have to stop moving or “accept” discomfort as normal.

With the right combination of education, strength training, stress management, and individualized care, women can protect their joints and stay active through every stage of life.

If joint pain is interfering with your workouts, daily activities, or confidence in movement, it’s worth addressing sooner rather than later—your joints (and hormones) will thank you.

Ready to Move Without Joint Pain?

If joint pain, stiffness, or instability is holding you back—especially during hormonal changes—you don’t have to figure it out on your own. Hormone-related joint pain is common, but it’s not something you should ignore or push through.

At Stay Active Physical Therapy & Wellness, we specialize in helping women understand what’s driving their pain and how to move confidently again. Through one-on-one, personalized care, we help you:

• Identify the root cause of your joint pain

• Build strength and stability safely

• Stay active without fear of making things worse

• Feel strong and supported through every stage of life

If joint pain is interfering with your workouts or daily activities, now is the time to address it. Schedule an evaluation with Stay Active Physical Therapy & Wellness and take the first step toward moving better, feeling stronger, and staying active for the long term.