Menopause Symptoms: Understanding the Story Beyond Hormones | Menopause

“My chest feels tight, and the back of my neck is always stiff.

I often wake up at night drenched in cold sweat.

I feel like I might explode if someone even touches me.”

“My friends say everyone is like this when they reach menopause, but it’s so hard for me. Could these all be early symptoms of menopause?”

“The hospital says there’s nothing specifically wrong, but I’m still in pain.”

Mi-jeong (pseudonym), in her late 40s, experienced severe shoulder stiffness along with head fogginess and dimming vision due to menopause a few months ago.

Especially before falling asleep, she found it difficult to get a good night’s rest because of a feeling of heaviness and stuffiness throughout her body.

Hospital examinations showed no specific abnormal findings, but it caused significant disruption to her daily life.

Upon examination, chronic tension around the upper trapezius (the muscle connecting the shoulders and neck) was severe, and the alignment of her cervical spine (neck bones) was unstable.

Her autonomic nervous system balance was also disrupted, making it difficult to fall asleep at night, and she tended to wake up with a heavy, swollen body in the morning.

As in Mi-jeong’s case, it is common for early symptoms of menopause to appear in such complex patterns in menopausal women.

Menopausal symptoms are a phenomenon in which our body’s structure and environment interact in a complex way. First, the decrease in estrogen disrupts the delicate balance of the autonomic nervous system, putting the body in a state where the tension switch is turned on more easily than usual. When body tension increases due to this autonomic hyperarousal, the muscles of the cervical region (neck and shoulders), including the trapezius, easily become rigid. This can feel like shoulders drooping heavily as if a heavy garment were placed on a hanger, making it always feel stiff and uncomfortable.In a state where the tension switch is on, it becomes difficult to fall asleep at night and one becomes vulnerable to daily stress. If sleep quality drops, the body’s recovery power also declines, leading to a more sensitive reaction to pain. Additionally, estrogen is deeply involved in water metabolism in the body; if micro-edema occurs due to hormonal changes, it obstructs blood circulation and lymphatic drainage around the neck and shoulder tissues, further exacerbating stiffness and discomfort. In this way, hormonal changes, autonomic tension, lack of sleep, stress, and edema—all these elements negatively affect each other, creating a vicious cycle in which pain induces more pain and fatigue deepens fatigue.We believe that clearly understanding and breaking this complex loop through appropriate intervention is the key to managing menopause.

Here are some tips for managing menopausal symptoms in daily life. First, consistently try light stretching for about 10 minutes a day to gently loosen the neck and shoulders. This is very helpful for relaxing hardened trapezius muscles and promoting blood circulation. Second, it is important to establish regular sleep habits by maintaining consistent bedtimes and wake-up times. A stable biorhythm is one of the most important factors for increasing body recovery power and maintaining autonomic balance. Third, sufficient water intake—especially the habit of frequently drinking lukewarm water—is highly beneficial for aiding internal circulation and managing edema. Finally, even for a short time, take time to relax the mind’s tension and manage stress through meditation or deep breathing.These efforts have a positive impact on stabilizing the autonomic nervous system and can promote overall physical and mental comfort.

Limitations of Self-Diagnosis and the Importance of Professional Medical Treatment

Menopausal symptoms can be confused with symptoms of other diseases. For example, shoulder pain or insomnia can also be signals of thyroid disease, anemia, or other chronic illnesses.If you conclude it is menopause without an accurate diagnosis and leave it untreated, you may miss the appropriate window for treatment. Therefore, if you feel anxious about changes appearing in your body, it is important to consult a medical professional to confirm your exact condition. If necessary, objective indicators should be confirmed through blood tests or other precision examinations.Rather than making hasty self-judgments, it is safer to get professional help to accurately understand your body status and establish a customized management plan.