Every single day we see women coming in with foot pain who are also reaching menopause or peri menopause, and yes the two are most definitely linked.
One of the effects of menopause is the decrease in production of oestrogen and progesterone. These hormones regulate the development and maturation of our connective tissues including ligaments, muscles and tendons. With the decrease in these hormones the function of the soft tissues throughout the body decreases.
We have over 100 ligaments, tendons and muscles that create the shape function of our foot, so it is simple to see how the foot is affected by hormonal changes in menopause.
Unfortunately, weight gain is another side effect of menopause (how fun is being a female!). Weight gain increases the load on the feet. The combination of these two create a huge range of problems.
Some of the simpler problems we see are ingrowing nails and corns and callous. This is usually due to poor fitting footwear. We usually see an increase in shoe size up to 1.5 sizes at this stage of life, so a lot of our ladies are wearing shoes MUCH too small for their feet. A little reminder to always get your feet measured every single time you buy new shoes (men and women). The creation of hammer toes, bunions and bunionettes are also commonplace.
Osteoporosis and osteopenia are often developed at this time which can lead to stress fractures and general poor foot health.
Biomechanical problems are rife in this patient group. Most commonly Plantar Fasciitis, Tibilais Posterior Dysfunction and forefoot problems such as neuromas and intermetatarsal bursae. We also see a lot of knee pain that is foot related and even back pain.
If you feel that you are experiencing any foot, ankle or leg pain, come in and get checked. We are here to help!