Five Things You Wish You Knew About Menopause

Thank you for taking the time to read this special blog I’ve put together specifically to help women like you!

It is an honour and privilege to be able to use my years of knowledge and experience to help lovely ladies like yourself, learn to control peri-menopause and menopause symptoms. It is possible to feel great during this time not be reduced to a hot mess who feels somewhat out of control!

Believing change is possible is where it all starts! We teach a way of working with your body to support it finding your new hormonal balance. This approach significantly improves the process, how ever long it may last.

Like many women of menopausal age you are likely to be a very busy lady with have lots of demands on your time. We also know, women like you aren’t used to taking time out to look after yourself and put yourself on your daily ‘to do’ list. This is a hard habit to break.

That is why this report has got 5 simple, quick things you can do right now to start helping your menopause / perimenopause journey.

1. Lack of oestrogen has an effect on your skin, muscles and connective tissue

Oestrogen is the hormone that increases when puberty starts and is responsible for the changes to your body during this time,  playing a key role in your reproductive cycle. Oestrogen also helps your skin stay young by maintaining the elasticity and bounce in your skin and other connective tissues. It helps keep your skin hydrated and thick.

If you are in perimenopause or menopausal years, you may have found that your skin and other tissues don’t have the firmness that they had when you were younger. Many women around this time also seem to develop more problems with their pelvic floor or prolapse too. This is mainly due to the connective tissues losing firmness and the skin being less moist. It is SO common for women to leak if they cough, sneeze, skip run and jump but it is not normal. Regardless of your age and the menopause, it is possible to prevent or stop problems with your pelvic floor during this time so you don’t leak.

2. Sleep

Sleep is super important to help with all sorts of body functions and our general wellbeing. Sleep is restorative; it helps us to heal, be healthy and also helps keep your weight under control. There are few things finer than a good night’s sleep!

That said, menopause is the time when our sleep is often broken commonly with night sweats or by feeling achier in joints. Tackling sleep issues is a key thing to do to minimise menopause symptoms. One way simple thing to aid better sleep is to avoid blue light after 9pm. More information on this can be found on our website at  https://www.healthhub-kingsbridge.co.uk/one-simple-thing-to-do-for-better-sleep/

3. What can cruciferous vegetables do for you?

In a clinical trial on healthy postmenopausal women it has been shown that increasing your intake of cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, sprouts kale, cabbage) for 4 weeks, balances out your hormones more effectively.

This research also suggests it may decrease your risk of certain cancers (including breast) whilst eliminating painful cysts and fibroids too.

This rather marvellous group of vegetables are also very high in nutrients and can help to keep your gut healthy and working efficiently too. The by product of which will help you avoid getting constipated. What’s not to love about these rather special vegetables!! Way cheaper to get than loads of unproven expensive pills and potions!

4. Are you an apple or a pear?

Women who carry more weight around their tummy than their hips (have a high waist to hip ratio) tend to produce more stress hormones (cortisol) and report more stressful lives (Epel 2000)!  Reducing tummy fat is a great way to combat stress during menopause and can also reduce the risk of heart disease, diabetes, cancer and hypertension. It’s a good thing to tackle!

How do I measure my waist to hip ratio (WHR) I hear you say? It’s simple!

a) Measure your waist at its narrowest point

b) Measure your hips at their widest point

c) Divide the hip by the waist measurement to get the WHR.

The ideal is 0.8

5. Get moving

The best exercise programme you can do is one that is designed to consider your individual body, which will differ from everyone else. Things to take into consideration when planning the best exercise for you include your bone health, pelvic health, previous surgery, heart health and any musculoskeletal things you have going on, even if they are small niggles.

During the perimenopause and menopause years so many women find they don’t get the results they want from the exercise they do. The best exercise programmes at this time involve walking, muscle-maintaining and metabolic training as well as restorative/nurturing exercise. It is SO much more beneficial to do these sorts of training not the latest fad or craze. You are busy so let’s maximise the results in the shortest amount of time!

So, there you have it, 5 simple things you can start doing today to help you during the menopause.  There is SO much more to tell but this is a great place to start to improve your quality of life.

We expect you have more questions on what you have read such as;

-   What is metabloic exercise?

-   What foods can I eat to give me better sleep but not make me put on weight?

-   What is the quickest and simplest way to combat stress because I’m a busy lady?

-   What do I do to prevent or minimise hot flushes?

-   Can I avoid taking HRT and do the menopause naturally?

-   What is the best thing to use for vaginal dryness?

It is easy to get confused and feel overwhelmed about how to handle your menopause problems with so much varying information out there. There is so much more that you can do to help your body apart from/ or as well as resorting to medication.

Over the coming weeks I will be sending you some more information, going in to more detail on how to best tackle the menopause and get a healthier, more active and stress reduced lifestyle.  I will also show you how Physiotherapy can make a MASSIVE difference to your life during this time.

If you would like to know more we have a free talk pre-recorded, just for you. It delves deeper into what goes on from a hormone perspective during menopause and will help you understand why so many things are affected. It also sets the scene for more info we can send your way answering more of the questions above.

So, if you want tackle menopause head on with all the right knowledge, practical things to do and much needed support then simply call or email us at the HealthHub and we will send you the lecture absolutely FREE.

If you have any other questions that haven’t been discussed in this report please don’t hesitate to get in touch. We are here to help and can organise a FREE chat with Wendy to chat through what is going on and what options can help.

If you already know you want to get started right now with either our

-   fully supported menopause course including instant access to our private Facebook group

or

-   one to one sessions for all things menopause or pelvic health related,

Please call or email and we can get you started with the specific things for you.

I hope this is the beginning of a great, long term relationship with myself and the dedicated team here at the HealthHub.  We can help you overcome the challenges you are having with your body. So many people’s lives are being ruined by the menopause and their belief that there isn’t anything that can be done. This simply isn’t true. Our team will be 100% behind helping and supporting you achieve the things that will make a real difference to your life. Let’s get your sparkle back!

We shall look forward to hearing from you.

With best wishes

Wendy Farren

Specialist Pelvic Health Physiotherapist

About the Author Wendy Farren

Wendy has been practicing physiotherapy for over thirty years and has a deep-seated passion for helping people with pelvic health and menopause symptoms. She has studied extensively in these interrelated fields and is an expert in helping women through this often “challenging” time!

So many women don’t know where to go to get the information and help they need as the menopause hits.   They are left feeling confused, helpless and miserable as they battle symptoms and emotions that can be a right old rollercoaster. So many suffer in silence and find the years of change something to dread.

In response to this problem, Wendy has created an array of wonderful resources and / or one to one sessions that provide the tools and support every lady needs to get through this time of life with a smile on her face!

The best place to start with any problem you face is to arm yourself with the right facts and information. Knowledge is power after all and it takes the fear and mystery out of it!

At the HealthHub we specifically work with women who are mainly 40 + and worried about their long-term health, their body and want get the most out of life. We specialise in getting them more active and happier than they dreamed of, even if they thought that there was nothing that could be done. The menopause is no exception.

Wendy’s skills and knowledge cover not only all things to do with your pelvis and lady bits but also factors relating to your hormones, stress relief, appropriate exercise and nutrition. There is SO much to consider all of which can help you….in the right combination!

At the HealthHub, Wendy and the team look at you as a whole person and use a mixture of progressive and traditional approaches to help busy ladies who feel that there is no end to their symptoms.