5 Minute Movement Snacks for Achy Joints
Phosis: Conversation and Community for Peri and Menopausal Women
How many times have you felt a twinge in your back, an ache in your knee, an acute sensation in your shoulder, or a crick in your neck and dismissed it as a normal symptom of aging?
Aching joints was one of the first symptoms I noticed in my mid-40s although I didn’t realize at the time that it was connected to perimenopause. It wasn’t until I became a menopause educator that I understood how many different symptoms women in perimenopause can experience, including achy joints. As a yoga and Pilates teacher and functional movement expert, I’ve witnessed hundreds of women either write off their pain as something they simply have to live with or something they’ll get to “later.” While joint pain is certainly a common sign of aging, it’s not necessarily normal.
One of my morning movement snacks for improving strength and flexibility while managing achy joints.
Why do my joints ache?
Be sure to see your doctor to rule out an injury, side effects from medication, or a chronic condition like Fibromyalgia or Rheumatoid Arthritis, but if you’re in the clear, the cause may be hormonal. More than half of women approaching menopause report experiencing achy joints due to declining estrogen levels. (High levels of estrogen in your reproductive years keep joints soft and supple, while the sharp decline in perimenopause can cause aching, throbbing, or shooting sensations.)
Ugh. What can I do about it?
Medical treatments can range from supplements to anti-inflammatories to hormone replacement therapy, but functional movement is something you can try first or in conjunction with other therapies to relieve pain now and help prevent more joint pain as you age.
What is functional movement?
Instead of focusing on endurance or isolated strength training, functional movement focuses on improving and optimizing the total body movement needed to play a sport if you’re an athlete, or, for the rest of us, to feel strong and pain-free living daily life and doing the activities we enjoy.
Think about it as a way of exercising to feel great rather than to look a certain way — it’s where balance, strength, mobility, and range of motion meet. Certain group classes may brand themselves as corrective or restorative, but as a long-time yoga and Pilates teacher who transitioned to private functional movement coaching, I highly encourage you to find an expert and invest in solo coaching — even if just for a few sessions.
Why? Yoga and Pilates are fantastic modalities for developing both strength and flexibility, but group classes aren’t designed to help address your specific aches and pains. Individual evaluation and attention with a functional movement expert will help identify your specific muscle weaknesses and areas of stiffness to help prevent aching joints now and over the long term.
5-10 Minute Movement Snacks
As a mom to two teenagers, and as a daughter to an aging parent, I know how tough it is to carve out time for yourself — and being in pain (and possibly sleep-deprived as well!) certainly doesn’t help. But taking 5-10 minutes for yourself today can offer relief and set you up for successful aging down the road. In the morning, I make a concerted effort to bypass the never-ending scroll of social media. I know how tantalizing it is to pick up a phone first thing in the morning, but setting it aside in favor of a few stretches can be an easy place to find a bit of extra time. This small but significant change helps set my body and my mind up for success for the rest of the day. Here are some quick movement snack videos that have inspired me lately.
10-Minute Knee Pain Exercise Snack
Writing this week’s newsletter has inspired me to share some of the movement strategies I’ve learned over the past two decades. Stay tuned later this spring for more!
Cheers to looking and feeling your best,
Susan
Susan Campbell
Founder & CEO, Phosis