What exercise should I do during the Menopause?
The menopause is defined as the day following 12 consecutive months without a period. There are 3 stages of menopause; perimenopause, menopause and postmenopause. The average age for a woman in the UK to experience a natural menopause is 51, but it happens to most women in their late forties or early fifties.
Menopause happens when the ovaries are reducing their eggs. As these reduce, hormone levels fluctuate and then fall. These fluctuating hormones can result in menopausal symptoms.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) menopause guidance states that perimenopause should be diagnosed on symptoms alone without blood tests in healthy women over the age of 45. Blood tests can be unreliable when hormone levels are fluctuating.
Symptoms of the menopause include hot flushes, insomnia, fatigue and brain fog, but there are also over a hundred other reported symptoms. There are also many genitourinary symptoms including vulval dryness and stress incontinence. Pelvic Health/Women’s Health Physiotherapists can help to treat these genitourinary symptoms of the menopause.
The types of exercise recommended during and after the menopause are aerobic training (also known as cardiovascular training), weight-bearing exercises and strength training.
Strength training is good for bones and muscles. As we age, our muscle mass decreases every decade over the age of thirty. By adding weights into your exercise regime, you can help to maintain or increase your muscle mass and you can alter your body mass composition. After menopause, women experience a loss of oestrogen. One of the effects of this is an increased risk of osteoporosis. Strength training helps reduce the risk of osteoporosis and reduce the natural bone loss which occurs with ageing. Strength training can also help lower your risk of heart disease and diabetes. Some studies have shown that strengthening exercises can help to improve women’s mental health. This may be useful during menopause when anxiety and low mood may occur.
If you’re new to strength training, start with body weight exercises consisting of squats, lunges and press ups, focusing on technique before adding weights or resistance bands. If you’re a gym member, start with the seated machines on light weights and then gradually build up over time. The goal is to target all major muscle groups on 2 or more days per week. A consultation with a Women’s Health Physiotherapist can help you to learn the current techniques for weight training and give you the confidence to start strength training.
Weight-bearing exercise is exercise which uses your body weight to apply force downwards through your muscles and bones. This helps to improve muscle, bone and joint health which can be adversely affected by the menopause. Pilates, yoga, HIIT training and running are all examples of weight bearing exercises which can be helpful both during and after the menopause. Balance training can also be targeted through regularly completing Pilates or yoga, which can help prevent falls as we age. It is recommended that women over the age of 65 also include balance training into their exercise regimes.
Aerobic training will help to improve your heart health after the menopause. Aerobic exercise improves the efficiency of your heart, lunges and blood vessels. Women are at particular risk of heart disease after the menopause, so it’s important to do this type of exercise on a regular basis. Aerobic training can also increase your energy levels, improve your mood and enhance your sleep quality. Examples of aerobic exercise are cycling, HIIT training and running.
You should aim to meet the guidelines on activity levels for all adults. This is 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise per week. This should include a mix of cardiovascular exercise with at least two strength sessions.
For further information see your Women’s Health Physiotherapist, who is a specialist in Women’s Health and Female Athlete Health. The Menopause Support Charity or The Well HQ provide excellent resources for Women’s Health and Fitness.