Functional Movement
Why Do Your Joints Ache in Menopause, and What Helps?
Key Takeaways Falling and fluctuating oestrogen around perimenopause and menopause can leave joints stiff and aching, often in the hands, knees, hips and shoulders. Menopausal joint pain is usually widespread and eases as you move through the day, which helps set it apart from osteoarthritis and from inflammatory arthritis. Swelling, heat, prolonged morning stiffness or…
See MoreGout: The Joint Pain People Don’t Expect
Key Takeaways Gout tends to arrive suddenly, often overnight, as severe pain, swelling and redness in a single joint, most often the big toe. It comes from urate crystals that build up quietly over months or years, so a first flare can strike someone who feels otherwise well. Repeated flares can wear down a joint…
See MoreMorning Joint Stiffness: Why It Happens and How Long Is Normal
Key Takeaways Brief morning stiffness that eases within about half an hour is common and usually mechanical. Osteoarthritis stiffness is often short but may last up to an hour, while inflammatory arthritis can last much longer. Duration is only part of the picture. Which joints are involved, one side or both, and how the stiffness…
See MoreRotator Cuff Surgery Recovery: What the Timeline Really Looks Like
Key Takeaways Most people need 4 to 12 months for a full recovery after rotator cuff surgery, and the weeks spent in a sling are only the first stage of that. Recovery moves through four phases: protecting the repair, restoring movement, rebuilding strength, then returning to full activity. Desk work often resumes within a few…
See MoreFrozen Shoulder vs Rotator Cuff Tear: The Difference That Matters
Key Takeaways Frozen shoulder is a tightening of the joint capsule, while a rotator cuff tear is damage to the tendons that lift and steady the arm. The clearest home clue is assisted movement, since a helper can raise your arm with a cuff tear but not when the capsule is frozen. Frozen shoulder is…
See MoreWhat ‘Good Recovery’ Looks Like Week by Week
Key Takeaways A good recovery shows as a steady upward trend in what you can do, not a pain-free line or a fixed number of days. Comfort usually returns before full strength, so feeling better early does not mean the tissue has finished healing. Flare-ups after busy days, short plateaus and swelling that comes and…
See MoreSarcopenia: How Invisible Muscle Loss Leads to Falls, Fractures and Joint Failure
Key Takeaways Sarcopenia often goes unnoticed because body weight can stay the same as muscle is quietly replaced by fat, and there is usually no pain to warn you. Weak, slow muscles reduce your balance and your power to catch a stumble, which is why falls become more likely with age. Muscle and bone tend…
See MoreHow Much Protein Do You Actually Need After 50 to Keep Muscle?
Key Takeaways Australia’s official protein figure, the recommended dietary intake, is a floor to prevent deficiency, not the amount that does most to protect muscle after 50. Research suggests many older adults do better on around 1.0 to 1.2 g per kilogram of body weight a day, though this is not yet in the guidelines.…
See MoreStrength Benchmarks for Staying Independent at Home as You Age
Key Takeaways Balance is a skill your body can rebuild at any age because the systems behind steadiness respond to regular, graded practice. Programs that challenge balance and add leg and hip strength have the strongest evidence for cutting falls, more so than walking or general activity on its own. Dose decides the result, so…
See MoreTraining Around Pain: A Load Management Guide for Cranky Joints
Key Takeaways Mild pain during exercise is not proof of damage, and a cranky joint usually needs its load adjusted, not removed. The main levers are training load, weekly volume, the range you work through, movement tempo and exercise choice, so most people can keep training in some form. A useful guide is discomfort staying…
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