Why Chiropractic Care During Perimenopause & Menopause?

Perimenopause and menopause are natural transitions in a woman’s life, yet the symptoms that accompany them are often disruptive and complex. As estrogen and progesterone fluctuate and gradually decline — a process that can last up to 10 years — women may experience hot flashes, sleep disturbances, mood changes, headaches, joint pain, brain fog, anxiety, and fatigue.

During this time, women are also more prone to musculoskeletal injuries and conditions such as frozen shoulder, joint stiffness, muscle loss, new or worsening arthritis pain, and unexpected strains from everyday activities. While this transition is rooted in hormonal change, it is not only hormonal. It is neurological, musculoskeletal, inflammatory, and systemic.

This is where chiropractic care becomes uniquely relevant.

The Nervous System–Hormone Connection

The brain regulates hormones. The brain and spinal cord — collectively known as the Central Nervous System — are housed and protected by the skull and spine. When spinal joints become restricted or irritated, it can create mechanical stress that influences how effectively the nervous system communicates with the rest of the body.

Chiropractic adjustments reduce mechanical stress along the spine, improve joint mobility, and support clearer neurological signaling. When the nervous system functions more efficiently, the body is better able to adapt to hormonal fluctuations rather than react to them.

But the relationship between structure and hormones goes even deeper.

Viscero-somatic and Somato-visceral Connections

The body operates through constant two-way communication between the organs (viscera) and the ‘Soma’- the body/musculoskeletal system (joints, muscles, fascia, and connective tissues).

Viscero-somatic referral occurs when dysfunction in an internal organ creates tension or pain in specific muscles or spinal segments. For example, when the gallbladder is irritated, it refers persistent pain to the right inside shoulder blade. It is a pain that cannot be “stretched” away and ibuprofen does not really help. Sometimes it even refers from right shoulder blade to the right-sided neck and causes headaches. The organ and the musculoskeletal system are neurologically linked.

Conversely, somato-visceral referral occurs when dysfunction in the musculoskeletal system influences the function of internal organs. Restricted spinal segments, chronic muscular tension, diaphragm restriction, or pelvic misalignment can alter autonomic nerve input to endocrine organs. Over time, this mechanical stress may influence how the body regulates hormones, stress responses, circulation, and inflammation.

This is part of the mechanism at play when chiropractic and manual therapy techniques help improve digestion, reduce menstrual period pain, or support gallbladder and bowel function.

In simple terms: tension in the body can influence the function of the organs and glands — including those responsible for hormonal balance.

By restoring mobility to the spine, ribs, pelvis, and surrounding soft tissues, chiropractic and manual therapies such as massage, myofascial release, and craniosacral therapy help normalize neurological input to endocrine structures like the ovaries, adrenal glands, and thyroid. To be clear, chiropractic cannot fix a thyroid or cure a major hormonal imbalance, but bodywork can support and balance the musculoskeletal structure, thereby aiding in the natural regulation of the somatovisceral communication.

Sleep and Stress Regulation

Perimenopause and menopause often amplify stress sensitivity and disrupt sleep. Chronic muscular tension — particularly in the neck, jaw, diaphragm, and pelvic floor — can keep the nervous system in a heightened state of alertness. This is called “sympathetic overdrive” or “stuck in survival mode”.

Through spinal adjustments and targeted bodywork, we reduce somatic tension patterns that perpetuate stress signaling. This helps shift the body into the parasympathetic “rest and digest” mode of the autonomic nervous system — the state in which we regulate, repair, and recover.

Ever notice your stomach gurgling during bodywork? Or that you sleep deeply afterward, have improved digestion, or feel profoundly calm? These are parasympathetic responses. They are signs that your nervous system has shifted into a healing state.

Support through perimenopause and menopause can help keep up our vagal tone and help keep us in that “rest and digest” mode in order to live in a calmer and more resilient nervous system. 

Joint Pain and Connective Tissue Changes

Declining estrogen affects collagen integrity and joint stability. Many women notice new stiffness, inflammation, or vulnerability to injury during this stage of life.

Chiropractic care restores balance through improved joint mobility, reduced mechanical strain, and better biomechanical alignment. This decreases inflammatory stress within the musculoskeletal system and helps women remain active, strong, and less prone to injury — even during everyday activities (yes, even sleeping).

Why This Matters

Perimenopause and menopause are not simply about hormone levels on a lab report — though Dr. Heather is always happy to blood test and assess where you stand. They are about how the entire system adapts to change and stabilizes into a new normal.

This phase of life is about recalibration. It is about finding balance within a shifting physiology and then optimizing vitality within that new baseline.

When we work with the body structurally, we influence it neurologically.
When we influence it neurologically, we influence organ function.
And when organ function improves, hormonal regulation becomes more stable.

If you are navigating perimenopause or menopause and looking for a natural, complementary, physical and nervous system-based support, chiropractic care and manual therapy techniques may be an important part of your plan.

Book at Hunt Vitality Chiropractic & Wellness Center today! We have an all-women provider staff, which includes two amazing chiropractors and massage therapists, and a wonderful red light laser technician, and a health coach.