The Impact of Hormonal Changes During the Life Cycle of a Woman
WOMEN'S HEALTH
Laura Brayton
DC, CSP, CSCP, CACCP
Women’s health throughout the life cycle is vastly affected by hormonal influences beginning with the onset of puberty (menarche) through post-menopause (one year following final menses). This is approximately 40 years of a woman’s life and can significantly impact ligament/connective tissue and every aspect of her health. At each stage of life, hormonal balance plays a crucial role in how well her body maintains structural integrity and bone strength.
During adolescence, estrogen and progesterone are readily available to help create optimal connective tissue. Estrogen and progesterone have been shown to upregulate the expression of relaxin, which may explain the increased laxity under the influence of both honnones. At conception, a woman’s body immediately begins to increase levels of the relaxin honnone to prepare for the expansion of the pelvis during birth.
However, during the aging process and into perimenopause, changes such as osteopenia and osteoporosis become more common, partially because of a drop in estrogen production. On the flip side, because of exogenous hormone exposure like xenoestrogens found in environmental pollution and plastics, estrogen dominance during the child-bearing years can often wreak havoc on the delicate endocrine balance.
Impact of Dysmenorrhea
Honnonal imbalances in women can present themselves as early as adolescence when a girl begins menstruating. For example, symptoms of dysmenorrhea include frequent and painful periods, pain in the hips, low back, and inner thighs, as well as nausea, vomiting, dianhea, and fatigue. It impacts around 80% of women at some point during child-bearing years; in approximately 20% to 30% of women, the pain is so severe it impacts quality of life for several days every month. In primary dysmenorrhea, where there is no underlying pelvic condition like endometriosis or uterine fibroids, these symptoms can persist for decades and negatively impact school, work, and social life.
Traditional allopathic treatment includes NSAIDs and oral contraceptives, which only mask the symptoms instead of treating the underlying root cause(s). More holistic options include chiropractic care with a focus on lumbar and pelvic innervations into the reproductive system, vaginal steam baths, Mayan abdominal massage, herbs for sex hormone balance, homeopathy, eating cruciferous vegetables, and stress-management tools such as meditation and yoga.
Chronic high stress levels cause a dominant sympathetic nervous system that directly impacts the honnone balance, especially the adrenal hormones, creating a cascade effect on the other endocrine glands that are intimately connected. Often in my practice, I find honnonal imbalances in women surviving with “fight-or-flight” lifestyles that include poor sleep, inconsistent eating windows, dehydration, highly processed convenience foods, abnonnal elimination, chest breathing, and high mental/ emotional demands. This is a recipe for adrenal fatigue because the body’s basic physiological functions are not being properly met. Not surprisingly, these women also feel depressed, anxious, and exhausted, with little joy in their lives. Adrenal exhaustion also will inevitably create imbalance in the thyroid, pancreas, and ovarian hormones because the endocrine system is intimately connected and codependent, thus creating more “dis-ease” and symptoms.
As chiropractors, we have the power to directly assist in hormone balance simply by assisting with nervous system regulation. Additionally, many of us enjoy educating our patients about healthy lifestyle habits that can create positive change quickly in a woman’s quality of life. Improved physiology creates improved gland function and increased detoxification in the liver, where the sex hormones are metabolized. When it is common to place teenage girls on the birth control pill to address their dysmenorrhea symptoms, potentially having a healthy woman be on a prescription drug for decades with many potential side effects, we can offer a better option.
The Role of Arch Function
Additionally, women of all ages need to be checked for three arch positions in their feet while weight-bearing since we know that estrogen, progesterone, and relaxin can have a detrimental impact on the arches. In moderate-to-severe cases, we see a drastic collapse in one, two, or all three arches. Of course, since the arches of each foot never collapse evenly, we will witness an imbalance in the transverse planes of the body, creating chronic joint pain. This can be addressed with the use of custom flexible orthotics that support all three arches of the foot as part of the patient’s ongoing chiropractic care plan.
As we help the women in our practices get out of pain, they have the freedom to create vitality in their lives because they have the energy and motivation to make necessary lifestyle improvements. And a healthy lifestyle for life perpetuates from that first adjustment!
Dr. Laura Brayton is a member of the Association of New Jersey Chiropractors and American Chiropractic Association. She created the Well-Adjusted Mama podcast and launched the Brayton Birth Method online to educate and empower women during their perinatal journey. She is the owner and founder of Hoboken Family Chiropractic + Wellness in Hoboken, New Jersey. Check her out on FB and IG (cfdrlaurabrayton and at drlaurabrayton.com.
