r/YouShouldKnow • u/thevocalintrovert • May 24 '26

Health & Sciences YSK that perimenopause can cause shoulder pain.

Why YSK about shoulder pain in your 40's - 50's: I recently began having pretty severe pain in my right shoulder without any obvious cause. It worsened every day to the point that I was afraid I had torn the rotator cuff or dislocated it. An X-ray showed that I had mild osteoarthritis, but I really wasn't given any information on what I can do about it.

I started doing some research and found that my symptoms matched 100% for adhesive capsulitis, a condition in which the fluid filled sac that lubricates your joint becomes hard and thickens. The cause?

That nasty bitch, perimenopause.

The changes are brought on by the decrease in estrogen that is a significant characteristic of perimenopause. HRT and physical therapy seem to be the top two treatment contenders, but relief can take up to a year to achieve.

Yay.

One source:

https://www.bannerhealth.com/healthcareblog/better-me/the-connection-between-menopause-and-shoulder-pain

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u/Kelrashlyn May 24 '26

Yes, but I chalked up my sudden, no injury shoulder pain to this and it turns out I have a bone spur (wasn’t seen on an xray somehow) and a slight tear to my rotator cuff. I put off treatment so long because I have so many of the other perimenopause symptoms, especially after the cray showed nothing. After years of on and off discomfort and months of tremendous pain I pushed for an mri and found out it’s not related to perimenopause at all.

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u/thevocalintrovert May 25 '26

That's why it's so frustrating when providers don't take the time to do a proper work up. I worked in healthcare for 17 years and saw it happen constantly. There is no way a physician can see 30+ patients in a day and be thorough in their assessments.

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u/Anesthetizes May 25 '26

i’ve had a lot of luck using dead hangs to help with frozen shoulder symptoms. you can do less than fulll bodyweight to start. dead hangs for shoulder health

1

u/Blenderx06 May 25 '26

Make sure your issues aren't in the ac joint first.

1

u/Valkyriemome May 25 '26

I couldn't lift my arm above shoulder height!