The Hidden (Muscle) Power of Females During Menopause

Many women worry that menopause brings an inevitable loss of strength and energy. But what if this transition is less about decline and more about muscles changing in surprising ways?

Researchers in the Department of Human Health Sciences have found that menopause doesn’t lead to a uniform decline in muscle function. In fact, at certain stages of this hormonal transition, some muscles can actually become stronger.

Muscle strength plays a major role in everyday life. It helps us stay mobile, independent, and healthy as we age. That’s why Dr. Geoff Power, a professor of biomechanics, and recent PhD graduate, Dr. Parastoo Mashouri, set out to learn more about how menopause impacts muscles.  

“Menopause affects half of the population,” says Mashouri. “Yet we still don’t fully understand how it influences muscle function.”

Their goal was to track what happens to muscle strength through the different stages of menopause, to better understand the changes females experience and how to support healthy aging.

To study how muscles change throughout menopause, the team used a mouse model that mimics the gradual, natural hormonal transition that human females experience.

They examined two different leg muscles at four distinct stages that reflect key points of the transition: the period just before menopause begins, its onset, early menopause, and late-stage menopause.

By testing single muscle fibers in the lab, they were able to measure strength and function at a very precise, cellular level — leading to some surprising results.

It turns out muscle strength doesn’t simply decline during menopause. In one of the leg muscles — the soleus — the researchers saw a “rise–dip–rise” pattern in force production across the transition stages.

First, there was an initial increase in force at the onset of menopause. Shortly after, the muscle went through a period where its force production dropped below that of mice not in menopause. Later, the pattern shifted again, and the soleus produced more force than non‑menopausal mice once more.

Interestingly, another leg muscle — the extensor digitorum longus — did not show this pattern. Instead, its ability to generate force stayed relatively steady across all stages of the transition.

Overall, the findings show some muscles may be more sensitive to shifts in hormones than others. Just as importantly, they also reveal that muscle function changes in complex ways during menopause, rather than simply declining.

So, what does this mean for female health? The research team has some ideas.

“Menopause is not a single moment,” says Mashouri. “It is a transition.”

As the body moves through that transition, muscles don’t respond all at once, they shift in stages.

“If muscle changes happen in phases, then supports like exercise or hormone therapy may need to be matched to the stage of menopause that someone is in,” explains Mashouri.

Recognizing these phases could help clinicians and exercise specialists tailor support to women in menopause more effectively. That could mean taking advantage of periods when training may be especially beneficial, or being mindful of times when muscles might be more vulnerable.

Ultimately, these findings highlight a powerful truth: the female body remains dynamic and capable, even through major hormonal changes.

Read the full study in the journal Applied Physiology, Nutrition and Metabolism.

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