Joint Pain in Menopause? What’s Really Causing It (and How to Fix It Naturally

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I'm JJ Virgin, PhD dropout— sorry, Mom— turned 4-time New York Times bestselling author. I'm a certified nutrition specialist, Fitness Hall of Famer, and I speak at health conferences and trainings around the globe. But I'm driven most of all by my insatiable insatiable curiosity and love of science to keep asking questions, digging for answers, and sharing the information that I uncover with as many people as I can. And that's where you come in. That's why I created the Well Beyond 40 Podcast to synthesize and simplify the science of health into actionable strategies to help you thrive. In each episode, we'll talk about what's working in the world of wellness, from personalized nutrition and healing your metabolism to powerful aging and prescriptive fitness. Join me on the journey to better health so you can love how you look and feel right now and have the energy to play full out at 100. Don't miss an episode. Subscribe now at subscribe2jj.com to start unlocking your healthiest, most energetic self. Wanna listen to the show ad-free?

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You've been told to move less, rest more, and maybe just accept that aching joints are part of getting older, especially during menopause. But what if I told you that most of that advice is flat out wrong? Hey, JJ Virgin here. I'm a nutritionist, a fitness expert, and a wellness warrior helping women thrive, not just survive, through perimenopause and menopause. And one of the big things there is to not hurt. So today we're going to be talking about joint health because this literally is one of the most misunderstood parts of menopause and it's affecting your mobility, your mood, and your metabolism. Now I'm going to take you back about 20 years to when I had my wellness center and gym in Palm Desert. And I remember I had this gal Shirley. Now Shirley was going through perimenopause. And while I was familiar with some of the things that happened during perimenopause, like what my mom calls shifting sands, where the fat in your butt that seems to go to your gut. What I wasn't aware of was something that Dr. Vonda Wright has taught me about called the Musculoskeletal Syndrome of Menopause. So in comes Shirley, who'd been working out, training with me for a while, and Shirley has frozen shoulder and it is really painful. What I didn't know then is that this is a sign of perimenopause, that quite often as you're going through menopause, you will start to have issues with your tissues, issues with your connective tissue. Your collagen's going down. You're getting more inflamed. I have my own story of going to the gym and just not recovering like I used to recover, like just kind of getting up in the morning feeling achy, you know, and my joints feeling achy, my body feeling achy, and not really understanding what the heck was going on until my dentist, of all people, when I asked him about my bleeding gums, said, oh, it's low estrogen. Well, low estrogen was also why I wasn't recovering well and my joints were achy. So this is what we're going to be talking about today. We are going to bust some of the biggest myths about joint pain, and I'm going to walk you through what's actually happening in your body. You're not crazy is the most important thing, nor are you broken. And I'm going to give you some science-backed tools to reduce the pain, to rebuild your joint health— yes, it's possible— and to help you feel strong again. Let's talk about myths about joint pain in midlife. And here's the big myth number 1: you should move less to protect your joints. Oh my gosh, nothing could be further from the truth, 'cause here's the reality, and this is a writer downer: mobility is medicine. When you move, that motion is going to help you lubricate those joints and stimulate repair. The reality is The less you do, guess what? The less you can do. But the more you do, the more you can do. And just think about it. Think about how you feel when you have just been sitting around, right? You know, I know how I feel. Like, if I've been sitting in a car, then I get out of the car and I'm like, oh my gosh, like, everything hurts. The longer you sit, the worse you feel. From Palm Desert, I used to go work in LA, and I train people in LA, and then I drive home at night, late at night, after my client. My last client, I would take out doing this run and hill hiking, and then I'd get in the car and I'd drive 4 hours. And I remember getting out of the car and like crawling out of the car because of just sitting there and getting stiffer and stiffer and stiffer. So remember, mobility is medicine. When you move, you're actually lubricating those joints. It's super duper important. Next one: your diet doesn't affect joint pain. Here is the reality: a high inflammation diet can absolutely worsen joint pain. And when I think high inflammatory— and there's actually something called the Dietary Inflammatory Index, so you can actually look up foods, but it's also how the food reacts with you. But the big offenders are going to be processed foods, ultra-processed foods, sugar, and gluten. I know when I get gluten, when gluten sneaks in, or occasionally it just runs into my diet, I wake up the next morning with stiff fingers. So it is a thing. And another one in there are bad fats, because bad fats, especially a lot of those omega-6 fats, are pro-inflammatory. You got too much inflammation, guess what happens? I had a client, and this one shocked me, I never would have expected it, who had been going to a physical therapist every week, twice a week, for a year for her chronic Achilles tendonitis. And it wasn't getting better. I kind of was like, what do you keep going there for, right? Then she went on the Virgin Diet and pulled out the 7 foods, but the big one she pulled out that she noticed the difference was with gluten. She pulled out the gluten and her Achilles tendonitis goes away. Wow. So this is a big one to check, and I'm also going to give you a couple things. So gluten, sugar— if you just pull out the ultra-processed foods, guess what you get rid of? And those damaged fats. But one thing that can help tremendously here as well are eating more antioxidant-rich foods. They kind of throw water on the flame of all that inflammation. So think of things like all the great polyphenols from plants, the berries and the broccoli and the red peppers. All those different types of things can be super helpful here. Myth number 3: the only option is surgery or pain medications. Thankfully, there are a lot of different options out there, a lot of natural tools, a lot of regenerative therapies. And here's what you want to think of: surgery always an option. I call it the last resort, right? And if these things can delay that time or even eliminate it, yahoo! Because the reality is, if you do have to have surgery, wait as long as you can because things are always getting better, right? You know, and sometimes it can be the best treatment, but it gets better all the time. So I was able to put off my knee surgery for 25 years. In my early 20s, when I blew out my knee and they cut out all the meniscus, which is what they did back then, they said you'll need a I'm thinking not a chance. And so what I did was I strengthened everything around it. I knew that now that I didn't have an ACL, anterior cruciate ligament, I needed to strengthen my hamstring. I need to strengthen the muscles right around my knee, the vastus muscles. And so I kept it super mobile. I stayed at my ideal body composition, right? And I kept it very, very strong. And then as new things started to come on board, I did a lot of antioxidants, a lot of things that helped with inflammation. Like fish oil and curcumins and hyaluronic acid and vitamin C. But then as things started to come online, like platelet-rich plasma and stem cells, I started adding those in too. And I was able to put this off till my early 50s, which I'm really glad I was able to do because the surgery got a lot better by the time I was 50. And they kept saying, oh, these things only last 10 years. I'm like, oh boy, well, I don't want to be doing this every, you know, at 30, at 40, at 50. So That's what I would tell you is like, there's so many things that surgery can be a great option, but I would have it always be your last option. All right, let's talk about what is really going on with your joints during menopause. So first of all, as we know, estrogen's going down. Well, when estrogen declines, collagen synthesis also declines. So that's going to now impact collagen, it's going to impact your connective tissue, it's going to impact all your joint cushioning. So all that stuff starts to get impacted as estrogen goes down. Next thing that happens— now, this doesn't have to happen, but if we are not really focusing on it and working against it, your body composition starts to shift. You start to lose muscle because estrogen's anabolic. It helps you build muscle, right? And so estrogen's going down, testosterone is going down, you're losing muscle and you're gaining fat. You might not notice much of a weight change, but your body composition is shifting. And having more fat, less muscle means more stress stress and strain on your joints. Plus, muscle is anti-inflammatory. When your muscles contract, they reduce inflammation. Fat is pro-inflammatory, especially if it's that visceral adipose tissue, the belly fat, which is what we tend to gain as we are going through menopause because we've got more insulin resistance, we've got higher cortisol, and we've got those receptors, cortisol receptors, in our belly. So that's why we tend to gain more of that. And speaking of cortisol, as estrogen's going down and progesterone is going down, cortisol is going up. And cortisol then impacts your sleep, impacts your stress, creates more inflammation. So poor sleep is just going to make things worse. Now you're not going to be as active, so that just adds to it. And then of course there's your gut health. One of the things that happens, we know, is you've got more cortisol and poor sleep and poor stress is you tend to get more leaky gut, more gut dysbiosis. If you've got gut issues, quite often that could create the inflammation that will create joint problems as well. When I wrote The Virgin Diet, the stories I got back from people is how much it had helped their osteoarthritis. And so one of the reasons I love collagen supplementation so much is not only does it help with joint health, it also helps heal and seal the gut. So it's a two-for-one. But think about things like gluten, and we talked about the, the dietary issues. As you are going through menopause, you will tend to have more of a tendency towards leaky gut, and then these things can create more of a problem for your joints. Just looking at collagen, we tend to lose 70% of collagen in the first 5 years postmenopausal. We know your, your bone health goes on a huge decline, and so does your collagen. And the other thing that I have to mention here, along with leaky gut, is that when you have leaky gut, remember, you've got your immune system right below your gut. So you got one layer of gut, and then you've got your immune system, and you've got antigens going through your gut lining and then hitting that immune system and activating it. And that activation can then cause joint pain as So all of this to say, what's going on with your joints during menopause is that you are getting more inflammation, less collagen, double whammy for joint pain. Okay, so what are we to do here? How do you rebuild and protect your joints naturally? Well, the first one I want you to think about is movement. Movement truly is medicine here. And when I think about movement, the first thing I'm going to emphasize is strength training. If you're injured, if you have joint problems, I'm going to highly advocate for finding a really good physical therapist or a qualified personal trainer to help you design a program, because what we want to make sure of is that you're not making this worse. Quite often I see people when they're injured or when they have a painful joint, they'll favor it and they'll do things around it, and they'll actually make the whole imbalance even worse. So this is where you want to work with a great personal trainer or physical therapist who's trained in this to know how to strengthen the weakness so you can actually take the pressure off the joint. You know, when I had my knee issue, I could have just kind of ignored it, worked around it, did things with my— focused on my other leg. What I did instead was I put more effort into my injured knee, making it stronger so that it would be the same or better than my other leg. And for my knee, what I did was what's called closed chain work, where I do small ranges of movement to strengthen the vastus group of, um, it's part of the quadriceps muscle, right, to strengthen those little muscles right around the knee and to strengthen the hamstring so they have more stability. Because I didn't have the stability with my meniscus and my missing ACL, so I had to create it through my muscles. And I had to make sure that I was not changing the way that I moved, right, as I did this to start to favor the other leg. So that's super important. That's where having someone watch what you're doing can make a big difference. And you'll have a tendency to want to focus on doing the, you know, working harder on the side that's not injured. And that'll just make it worse because you'll be more imbalanced. Now the other thing you're going to want to focus on is mobility work. You want to make sure everything is moving freely, that the fascia is working well, that the ligaments are working well. And this is where I'll also— I used to go in and it was funny, I would go into the soft tissue chiropractor, and this was when I was down at Goldschirm in Venice, and I would go over there and all the big bodybuilder dudes were in there and they would literally be in there because he was doing fascial release screaming. And I'm like, what babies, what these big guys are. But I would go in there and have him work through this to make sure that I was, you know, not building up scar tissue, that I had fascial release, that everything was moving freely. And so you want to make sure that you're moving well too. Now what I do is I use a Power Plate, and I'll put information on that in the show notes, and a TRX machine. And I will stand on the Power Plate and I will do deep squats using a TRX to assist me, and one-legged squats and pistol-style squats using a TRX on the Power Plate so that I'm working more and really really helping to put a lot of mobility into the joint and then nutrition into the joint with that vibration from the Power Plate. The other thing is to keep moving, and that's where some low-impact cardio— now I do like a little bit of jumping for the strain it puts on your bones, but you know, see what you're able to do depending on what's going on with your joints. But I love walking and cycling so that you get that circulation without all the wear and tear. And what I did when I was rehabbing from my knee injuries was I got into the pool. And I literally went and had this woman, Linda Huey, who trained the Olympic teams in the pool— I went and had her teach me. She killed me. You know, if you think, oh, the pool's a wimp— a wimpy workout— no, it's not. And it was a way that I could add in jumping and power moves. At the time, I wasn't able to do that any other way. So the pool may be your best bet for some of these things as well. And I don't like the pool solely as a workout because I want the gravity and the stress on my joints my joints and my bones for bone health, but I like it as a part of my training as well. So that can be amazing there. So check out that— that's a great way to add in some balance and some power moves. And for me, I want to think about lifting at least heavy at least twice a week, and then getting in some daily walking for that joint integrity. And if you can add in a rucking vest and just continue to increase the weight on the rucking vest, even better. The other thing that I love here is I will do yoga, and I really love hot yoga for mobility work because your joints are nice and warm. I also love to do sauna after weights because it's great and anabolic. Pre-weights or the next day after a hard workout, I love a cold plunge. I don't love it, I'm lying, I don't love it, but I do a cold plunge to help with more healing and reducing inflammation. So that's another thing you can think of. Nowhere is it more important than here to think of body composition as opposed to weight, because muscle is so important and it's so protective to to your joints, right? Fat mass on the other side just puts strain on your joints, so it's more to carry, but also it's inflammatory, especially that visceral adipose tissue. So remember, it is not about being thin, it is about being lean and strong. And if you had to choose, I'm going to choose strong over lean. It's healthier for you. But here, especially with joint pain, and depending where the joint pain is, but especially when you're looking knees and feet, you really want to look at being strong and lean so that your body doesn't have to carry as much around, right? It'll be easier for you, but you want that muscle that's really going to protect those joints. So let's talk about nutrition for joint health, and it may not seem like something that, that's a big deal, but it is a massive deal. When you have a low-inflammatory diet, you'll have a low pain life. And what I want you to focus on are omega-3 rich foods. So these would be things like wild fish, amazing, grass-fed I said grass-finished beef, so omega-3-rich foods, but also likely taking some omega-3 fatty acids as well. The other things that have great omega-3s are walnuts and chia and flaxseeds. And then of course eating an antioxidant-rich diet as well. And that is where I want you to really focus on things like all those different polyphenols, you know, all the different colors of plants, but also things like curcumin, adding in ginger, and then eating low sugar impact. And this is really important. Now, when I think about omega-3s, not only do they reduce inflammation, they also help with bone remodeling. So a little extra bonus point there. And then of course, we talked already about leaky gut, but when I was doing food sensitivity testing and looking at leaky gut, what I noticed is the traditional elimination diet— actually, most of those foods weren't the ones causing some of these bigger immune activations. And the ones that I saw that were causing the biggest problems were gluten and sugar were making the gut leakier, especially fructose. So think agave, fruit juice, high fructose corn syrup, gluten. Gluten actually triggers the release of a protein in the small intestine that makes the gut more permeable called zonulin. So those two are big problems. Once the gut's leaky, dairy, soy, eggs, corn, and peanuts tended to be some of the bigger immune offenders. So try that out. You can do the Virgin Diet where you pull everything out for 3 weeks and then go back and test one by one. That's how that client discovered that gluten was causing her Achilles tendon You can also check out the Dietary Inflammatory Index. It's going to tell you kind of inflammation levels of different foods. That's different than what I'm talking about with the Virgin Diet. The Virgin Diet really looks at leaky gut and which foods are triggering an immune response that's triggering global inflammation. The Dietary Inflammatory Index is talking about which foods tend to be more inflammatory— things like ultra-processed foods and things that are rich in more of the inflammatory fats. And then you're really going to want to make sure that you're healing the gut. Gut permeability can trigger both more arthritic symptoms but also autoimmune-like joint pain. So I had a client with psoriatic arthritis that turned it around and got off her medications by doing the Virgin Diet. So one of the things that I love to heal the gut actually is also so great for joint pain too, and that is using bone broth and collagen. So I'm a big, big fan of doing that because remember, you want to start first with putting out the fire and reducing the inflammation. We're going to talk supplements, but I always want to look at what do we need to do first to help with putting the fire out. So bone broth can be great. I have Bone Broth Protein from Reignite Wellness. This works great. Collagen works well as well. And so I've kind of walked into the supplement side of things, so I'm going to start, just start telling you about all the different supplements. And I'm going to start with talking about my foot. In my early 20s, I was teaching aerobics in Japan, and on a Sunday I decided to do some acrobatics because I used to be an acrobat when I was younger, and I did a backflip and landed wrong on my foot and broke it. They put me in a cast, but the challenge was that I was there during a quarter off from UCLA, and I had nowhere to go back home to because my parents didn't want me to go to Japan, so I didn't want to go back home to them. And I— school was— I couldn't go back into school in the middle of a session. So I had the cast cut off, and I proceeded to teach aerobics holding onto a chair And so needless to say, my foot never really healed correctly and has been a problem ever since. And now at my early 60s, I've got bone spurs and severe osteoarthritis. So I'm a really good test subject for everything, uh, joint health. So I'm going to tell you the things that I do, and I've added them one by one to see what things work the most. Kind of foundationally, fish oil has been amazing for me, and I think depending on how much fish you eat, you should take a gram or 2 grams a day. I tend to eat fish 3 times a week. I take 1 to 2 grams of fish oil a day. Then collagen. I mean, there is so much great research on collagen because it supports connective tissue, especially when you combine it with vitamin C. So I use a product called ElectroReplenish, which is my electrolytes, which I have vitamin C in, but I also take my collagen. And the studies look at anything from 5 grams to 20 grams. I would say 5 grams kind of, you know, at least take 5 grams a day. 10 is probably better. There was a study that showed that with 2,000 participants, oral collagen reduced pain by 10 to 20% and improved daily function and slowed cartilage loss, which is pretty darn amazing. So I'm a big collagen fan. There was, um, two different randomized placebo-controlled clinical trials that found that 5 grams a day of bioactive collagen peptide reduced both joint pain and improved mobility in older adults. So again, I do 10 grams a day, and what I do is I take it before I exercise. I recently heard on Dr. Andy Galpin's podcast— he was interviewing a guy who'd done a lot of research on collagen— and what he found was that when you did a pre-workout, it actually helped carry it to the places that you needed it because of the blood flow. So I was like, that makes a ton of sense, because when you think about it, with joints, a lot of these areas, you know, cartilage and connective tissue have low blood flow. So you got to, you got to get the things to flow to it, which is why movement's so important, because it's getting that blood flow there. So I would big emphasize trying the collagen. Test it out, collagen before you move. Now with omega-3s, again, 1 to 2 grams a day. One of the cool things with omega-3s is that they're converted into something called resolvins, and these are powerful anti-inflammatory molecules that reduce joint inflammation and also promote collagen. Okay, next up: turmeric, ginger, and boswellia. Now you want to get some of this stuff in your food, but you're never going to get the doses that you need. I don't know actually what food boswellia has, and you know, curcumin, of course, turmeric, um, and ginger, but are great herbs, but I don't know where you'd get boswellia. Now curcumin literally has been shown to be as effective as ibuprofen for managing managing osteoarthritis symptoms. And what's great is curcumin is going to help your gut. And as we know, ibuprofen and NSAIDs can make your gut leakier. Boswellia has reduced pain scores and improved physical function in just 5 days of using it in a double-blind placebo-controlled study. That was crazy, with effects continuing to improve over 90 days. And then there was a study that combined both curcumin cumin and Boswellia and showed that they were together better than either were on their own for reducing OA symptoms. So I've been taking— this is a new one that I've been trialing, and I just was so fortunate. About 7 years ago, one of the founders of Qualia— it was called Neurohacker back then— ended up in my house because my son had had a traumatic brain injury, and he was helping me with my son. And I kind of got hooked hooked with that company ever since and have been using their products for years and years and years. I started first by using their Synalytic, then I started playing around with some of their other products, and then they were like, you really— we really want to have you on board with the company. So I've been part of their company as a spokesperson now for a couple years because I'm kind of obsessed with their company. And I was really excited when their joint— they didn't know— they go, we have a new product, it's a joint product. I'm like, really? Oh my gosh, Thank God, answer to my prayers. So what's cool about their joint product is it's got boswellia, it's got ginger, it's got curcumin, and then it's got this product, this nutrient called Ovomet. Now I'd heard about eggshell membrane years ago, um, and what's interesting about eggshell membrane is that it's got collagen, it's got elastin, it's got hyaluronic acid, it's got chondroitin, it's got glucosamine. Curcumin, all these things that help with joint health, uh, and joint mobility. And what this one specifically has been used in Spain with all these different pro athletes, and they've got amazing studies showing that it reduces joint pain and stiffness in as little as 3 to 10 days. It's anti-inflammatory, it regenerates cartilage, like amazing stuff, right? Oh, and then the other thing this product has besides those things, it has carnitine, which I've always thought of carnitine as something you use to help with burning fat, but it turns out that it can be really useful for joint health as well. So I started taking it, and within a week— it really took 2 weeks to really kick in, but the first week I started to notice a difference. And it was after I'd been going to this doctor in LA for years who was injecting my foot every 4 to 5 months, and it would take the pain away. It was like magic. And then all sudden it was not magic anymore and it just stopped working. Then my pain came back with a vengeance and I was like, oh my gosh. So, you know, I went from feeling like I was getting stabbed to being able to walk, to being able to now walk with a rucking vest. I'm like, this is like a miracle for me. So I'm big fan of Qualia Joint Health. That's what I will tell you. This thing has been like a game changer for me. There are a couple other things when you think of joint health that you can do. I've done a lot of these things and I'm gonna walk you through a couple of them. So I always like to kind of— in my hierarchy, what I look at is get yourself as mobile as possible. Make sure you're moving a lot. Do things that help, like foam rolling and sauna and cold plunge. Make sure you're eating an anti-inflammatory diet, not doing things that can cause inflammation and leaky gut. Add in these supplements, you know, like if I had to choose my supplements, it would be fish oil, it would be collagen with C, it would be qualia joint health. Then here are some great regenerative things that you can do. Now, platelet-rich plasma is one that is amazing. PRP is what it's known as. And I love to do what I call luggage CrossFit. My husband and I always are like, get our luggage up to 70 pounds. We travel super heavy. We bring a ridiculous amount of stuff with us, but we travel so much, we don't— we want our things with us, completely with a coffee maker. I mean, we travel. So I was hoisting something stupidly. I did a dumb move and I injured my elbow. And I remember when I did, and I'm like, uh-oh. And then I ignored it and continued to lift weights and do things and thinking it'll go away. Did not go away because I tore something. I tore one of the tendons in my elbow. So I went to see this sports doc here in Tampa, and he's like, we can do PRP. And what's really cool with PRP is it uses your own blood, blood to trigger repair. So they take your blood, they spin it to make it rich in platelets, and then they guide it into the right area, inject it. I will tell you though, I was not expecting this because I've done all sorts of things. I mean, had, you know, knee replacements, etc. I'm like, this will be no big deal. So I like, I run over to the doctor to have it done. I have podcasts scheduled in the afternoon. I get it injected, I come back, I cannot believe how much this thing hurts. It's brutal. And I'm sitting there and I'm literally doing this podcast with my arm up on a pillow, like thinking I'm going to pass out. It was super painful. So I'm going to tell you that it's painful. And what they also didn't tell me was like that I couldn't really do anything for 4 weeks, which I was like, what? You know, so that was not so fun either, but it's completely healed. So that was amazing. So big fan of that. Now my husband just did PRP with exosomes exosomes into his knees. So stem cells, exosomes can be amazingly helpful as well. I had a little bit of a hamstring tear from my dog getting chased by a big dog and me falling, falling over holding her, and I tore a little bit of my hamstring off my ischial tuberosity. A very bad injury. They're like, this is a very bad injury. If we have to repair it, you're going to be in a knee scooter I'm like, I can't do that. Anyway, I went and had, um, my own stem cells that I had grown injected into this area and tried doing some Prolo. I tried doing some other things, didn't work, and stem cells healed it. So that was amazing. So that's another thing that you can do and try. And then kind of the up-and-coming is shockwave therapy, which can stimulate blood flow and collagen regeneration. Generation. It really depends on what's going on, what the injury is. So that's another one that you can try. And I am going to go do something new, so stay tuned on this. My doctor here told me about this. It's come from Europe. Apparently it's not really popular in the States now because people are scared of this, but it's low-dose radiation therapy. It's, uh, been used a lot in Europe for osteoarthritis. And what they do is they do very low doses of radiation and it reduces the inflammation, has an analgesic effect, and it also stimulates tissue repair. So I have fingers crossed that this will do something cool, and we'll see. So that's my next thing that I'm going to try. But I'm— I will tell you that just the stuff that I've done so far, and I credit a lot of this with, you know, I use Mitopure by Timeline, I use Synalytix by Qualia, I'd use my fish oil from Reignite Wellness, I do my collagen, uh, and C, I keep it super mobile. And I've been really moving this foot around a lot, and I've been doing some red light on it. I have a, uh, Juve red light, so I've been doing a lot of that stuff. But then the Qualia Joint just kind of put it over the edge of like, I can walk. Um, having a foot, a painful foot, is really a bummer, let me tell you. I talked about a lot of these regenerative therapies. I just mentioned cold therapy obviously that can be super helpful. And sauna. So cold therapy, you know, great for just reducing inflammation. Sauna for improving circulation and joint stiffness. Red light for repair. And then of course sleep. Get some sleep. Get good sleep. You're not sleeping well, nothing's healing. So there you go. Okay, here's my, here's my big takeaways is for you. Move. Don't baby it. So many— so often from people I hear that, oh, I can't do that because I have sore knees, you know, I can't do this because— I'm like, no, you need to do that because— now obviously work with the physical therapist, personal trainer, get, you know, get cleared for action. But the less you do, the less you can do. So quite often that reason you're saying why not is really the reason why I just want to put that into your brain for your mindset, okay? It's moving more, not less, that really helps your joints. Mobility is medicine. And remember, your gut and your diet can play a huge role here. They can be the difference. I had people turn their psoriatic arthritis and their osteoarthritis around with the Virgin Diet. So diet and supplements and, and all these regenerative therapies can do major changes. And then if, if, you know, last Last resort, there's some incredible surgeries. So there's a lot of options out there. And then remember, you're not broken, right? You just need probably some better tools, better tools and toolkit. So here's a lot of different cool tools that we have for your toolkit, a lot of different things to try. My advice is do one at a time so that you can really kind of go, is this, is this working? Give it enough time to work as well. Be sure to join me next time for more tools, tips, and techniques you can incorporate into everyday life to ensure you look and feel great and are built to last. Check me out on Instagram, Facebook, and my website, jjvirgin.com, and make sure to follow my podcast at subscribetojj.com so you don't miss a single episode. And hey, if you're loving what you hear, don't forget to leave a review. Your reviews make a big difference in helping me reach more incredible women just like you to spread the word about aging powerfully after 40. Thanks for tuning in, and I'll catch you on the next episode. Want to listen to the show ad-free? Head over to subscribetojj.com and start your ad-free experience today. Hey, JJ here, and just a reminder that the Well Beyond 40 podcast offers health, wellness, fitness, and nutritional information that's designed for educational and entertainment purposes only. You should not rely on this information as a substitute for, nor does it replace professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you have any concerns or questions about your health, you should always consult with a physician or other healthcare professional, make sure that you do not disregard, avoid, or delay obtaining medical or health-related advice from your healthcare professional because of something you may have heard on the show or read in our show notes. The use of any information provided on the show is solely at your own risk.

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