Understanding Menopause and Lateral Hip Pain: You’re Not Alone

Written By M L

Hip pain holding you back.

As your body transitions through menopause, it's common to experience unexpected aches and pains—including persistent pain around the side of your hip. This often-overlooked issue is commonly due to gluteal tendinopathy or trochanteric bursitis, conditions that are particularly common in women over 40.

Hormonal changes, especially the decline in estrogen, can affect the strength and elasticity of your tendons. This means the tissues that support your hip may become more prone to irritation and injury (Chidi-Ogbolu & Baar, 2019). Add in factors like weight fluctuations, sleep disturbances, and reduced physical activity, and it's easy to see why this discomfort shows up at this stage of life (Lu et al., 2020).

We see you. We hear you. And we can help.

At our clinic, we take a gentle and compassionate approach to managing hip pain in menopause. We focus on:

  • Educating you about what’s happening in your body and why.

  • Tailored exercises that support tendon health and reduce pain without aggravation.

  • Lifestyle and nutrition support—including anti-inflammatory strategies that can help calm your system (Bilodeau, 2022; Deng et al., 2023).

You deserve to feel strong, comfortable, and confident in your body—at every stage of life. If hip pain is holding you back, let’s work together to get you moving again.

1. Bilodeau, K. (2022, February 1). An anti-inflammatory diet may be good for your joints. Harvard Health. https://www.health.harvard.edu/nutrition/an-anti-inflammatory-diet-may-be-good-for-your-joints

2. Blumer, J. (2023). Arthralgia of menopause - A retrospective review. British Menopause Society Journal, 29(2), 95–97. doi:10.1177/20533691231172565

3. Chidi-Ogbolu, N., & Baar, K. (2019). Effect of Estrogen on Musculoskeletal Performance and Injury Risk. Frontiers in Physiology, 9(1). doi:10.3389/fphys.2018.01834

4. Deng, W., Yi, Z., Yin, E., Lu, R., You, H., & Yuan, X. (2023). Effect of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids supplementation for patients with osteoarthritis: a meta-analysis. Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery and Research, 18(1). doi:10.1186/s13018-023-03855-w

5. Hip Bursitis - OrthoInfo - AAOS. (2022, February). Www.orthoinfo.org. https://orthoinfo.aaos.org/en/diseases--conditions/hip-bursitis/

6. Lu, C., Liu, P., Zhou, Y., Meng, F., Qiao, T., Yang, X., Li, X., Xue, Q., Xu, H., Liu, Y., Han, Y., & Zhang, Y. (2020). Musculoskeletal Pain during the Menopausal Transition: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Neural Plasticity, 2020, 1–10. doi:10.1155/2020/8842110

7. Menopause basics. (2019, March 18). Womenshealth.gov. https://www.womenshealth.gov/menopause/menopause-basics

8. Minkin, M. (n.d.). Symptom Spotlight: Joint Pain. Www.letstalkmenopause.org.https://www.letstalkmenopause.org/our-articles/symptom-spotlight-joint-pain

9. Osteoporosis - OrthoInfo - AAOS. (2024, September). Www.orthoinfo.org. https://orthoinfo.aaos.org/en/diseases--conditions/osteoporosis/

10. Sternfeld, B., & Dugan, S. (2011). Physical Activity and Health During the Menopausal Transition. Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinics of North America, 38(3), 537–566. doi:10.1016/j.ogc.2011.05.008

11. Women, in. (2024). What Is Gluteal Tendinopathy and Why Is It Common in Women? Hospital for Special Surgery. https://www.hss.edu/article_gluteal-tendinopathy.asp

M L
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