Experiencing Shoulder Pain in Peri/Menopause?

Frozen shoulder

It’s one of the most common painful issues I see in many of my midlife clients.

It often starts with a client saying they’ve “tweaked” their shoulder. There’s no obvious injury, but suddenly certain movements hurt — lifting the arm forward and up, out to the side, or reaching behind the body (often noticed when trying to do up a bra).

What’s often happening underneath is inflammation around the shoulder joint. Over time, that tissue can tighten and stiffen, leading to reduced movement and pain — often worse at night. As the shoulder loses mobility, many women also start to experience neck or upper-back discomfort from compensating without realising it.

Frozen shoulder is far more common in midlife women, particularly between 40 and 60. Hormonal changes during perimenopause and menopause play a big role here — hormones like oestrogen help regulate inflammation and support joint and connective tissue health. When levels fluctuate or decline, tissues can become more sensitive and slower to recover.

What we do next depends on how long the symptoms have been there and how severe they are.

• If it’s early and manageable, we focus on gentle, controlled movement to maintain range of motion and see how the shoulder responds.
• If pain is severe or affecting daily life, I’ll always recommend seeing a physiotherapist or doctor for proper assessment and guidance.

A Personal Trainer that can support you through this process and help you on the road to recovery and is one of the best ways of ensuring you move through this and re-gain movement and reduce pain and inflammation.