Exercise as medicine for perimenopause and menopause: Key takeaways and useful information from our recent Dare to Care event.
Exercise as Medicine for Menopause and Perimenopause: Beyond Skin Deep
When it comes to menopause and perimenopause, there’s a lot going on beneath the surface — far more than hot flashes and mood swings might suggest.
While the outward signs can be disruptive, hormonal shifts affect everything from bones and heart health to metabolism, muscle tone, and mental wellbeing.
This phase of life is a critical time to understand and address the deeper impacts of these often overlooked complexities.
Did you know research shows that exercise, when prescribed with clinical insight, can be a powerful form of medicine?
At Chronic Care Australia (CCA), we’re committed to helping women navigate this journey with expertise and evidence-based support. Our personalised services and programs provide the guidance and tools needed to thrive during menopause and beyond.
Feeling Sluggish (Even When You’re Doing all the “Right Things”)?
It’s common to experience fatigue, difficulty sleeping, muscle loss, and weight gain in perimenopause and menopause, even when following healthy habits. These changes often stem from complex hormonal shifts affecting what we call The Big Five: heart, bone, muscle, metabolic, and mental/brain health. During perimenopause, your body’s response to exercise and diet can change, and typical routines may no longer yield the same results. Understanding the specific impacts on each of these areas is essential to finding effective ways to support your body. Booking an appointment with an Accredited Exercise Physiologist is an ideal starting point.
Heart Health: Take a Beat & Monitor It
Monitoring heart health is crucial in menopause, as declining estrogen levels can increase the risk of developing cardiovascular complications. Regular, moderate-intensity aerobic exercises, such as brisk walking, swimming, or cycling, can help improve heart and circulatory health, and lower blood pressure. Scheduling a Heart Health Check will help you understand your baseline heart health and track progress over time.
Building Strong Foundations with ONERO™: Evidence-Based Support for Bone Health
Bone density can decline significantly during menopause and perimenopause, increasing the risk of osteoporosis and fractures. CCA is proudly accredited by Professor Belinda Beck and The Bone Clinic to deliver the ONERO™ program — recognised as the gold standard in exercise medicine for people living with, or at risk of, osteoporosis. This structured, scientifically backed exercise protocol targets bone health directly through clinically supervised weight-bearing and resistance training, helping to build a strong skeletal foundation.
If you're interested in understanding more about bone health, tune in to Professor Beck’s conversation with longevity expert Dr. Peter Attia on The Drive podcast, where she discusses the science behind ONERO™ and its benefits for women’s long-term health.
Curious about your bone density? Booking a DEXA scan at Azure Medical can provide detailed data on bone, fat, and muscle percentages, guiding more effective exercise routines.
We also recommend reading the wealth of trusted information on the Healthy Bones Australia website.
Guiding Your Journey with Trusted Resources
With the right tools and insights, it’s possible to approach this phase with confidence.
Resources like the Hormone Repair Manual by Lara Briden and the Balance App for Menopause offer practical, holistic strategies.
The Australasian Menopause Society also provides valuable information to empower women during this transition, offering educational resources, expert insights, and support for understanding and managing menopause.
Connecting with a women’s health GP is another essential step, providing personalised care tailored to your individual needs, including supplements and body-identical hormone therapy.
Here are some practitioners we recommend:
For further guidance, Dr. Lucy Caratti’s podcast, Goddess Era, delves into women’s health topics, providing supportive and expert perspectives on navigating menopause with an integrative approach.
