Menopause symptoms expose sports-medicine evidence gap

British Journal of Sports Medicine published an externally peer-reviewed editorial on Oct. 12 urging sports and exercise medicine to treat menopause, usually occurring between ages 45 and 56, as a priority.

Evidence grade: Claim (no study cited): the Oct. 12 BJSM editorial is not original research. Menopause is defined there as a full year without menses, framing a long transition that may affect training, health and participation.

The article was written by Kristina Fagher of Lund University and co-authors from Swedish clinical and academic institutions, including Karolinska Institute and Linköping University. It says the transition can begin with years of perimenopause, continue through menopause and persist into the postmenopausal period.

The authors link falling ovarian estradiol production during the transition to possible symptoms including hot flushes, disturbed sleep, fatigue, mental distress, urogenital dryness, pelvic floor dysfunction, abdominal fat accumulation, bone loss, musculoskeletal pain and higher cardiovascular-disease risk. They also say the years before menopause may include severe premenstrual syndrome, heavy bleeding and irregular bleeding.

For sport and exercise, the central concern is practical: the editorial says physical performance may decline separately from normal ageing. It also says “there is a lack of evidence to guide exercise for health and performance in this population,” despite continued participation in sport and exercise in middle and older age.

The article also addresses who is covered by the discussion. The authors say they use the term women for brevity, while noting that transgender men and non-binary people may also experience menopause.

A second theme is misinformation. The authors say non-scientific material about menopause and exercise is widespread on social media, including claims that certain exercise modes can be dangerous during menopause. They wrote that such claims may create unnecessary stress and could promote unsafe practices.

The editorial says exercise is one of the most effective tools for reducing physical effects of ageing and supporting general health, and that it has been shown to ease symptoms during the menopausal transition.

The editorial cannot show whether any particular exercise programme improves menopausal symptoms or performance, because it is not a trial, cohort study or systematic review. The authors declared no specific funding from public, commercial or not-for-profit funders, reported no competing interests, and the article was externally peer reviewed.

Source: externally peer-reviewed editorial, British Journal of Sports Medicine, Oct. 12, 2026.

Atlas360 reports health research and does not provide medical advice.