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Building Muscles During Menopause With Extra Estrogen Power

Building Muscles During Menopause With Extra Estrogen Power

by Dr. Jayashree Gopinath on Sep 16 2022 10:49 PM
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Highlights:
  • When menopause starts, women consider hormonal therapy containing estrogen
  • There is one specific advantage of hormonal therapy when it comes to strength training
  • Women who lifted weights while wearing an estrogen patch had greater muscle growth
Greater muscle growth and an improved cholesterol profile are seen in women who work out while wearing estrogen patches, according to new research published in Frontiers in Physiology.
Menopause brings in a whole lot of changes in the body of women and most of them lead to troublesome symptoms that influence the quality of life of these women adversely.

Long-term sequelae, such as osteoporosis, sarcopenia, pathological neurological problems, and cardiovascular events also tend to increase. The lack of estrogen could be the main culprit behind menopause.

To accommodate these changes, many women consider initiating hormonal therapy containing the sex hormone estrogen. There are advantages and disadvantages to hormonal therapy.

A new study from Aarhus University is trying to document one specific advantage when it comes to strength training and the preservation of muscle mass in women who wear an estrogen patch while exercising.

Estrogen: The Friend in Need for Women Who Wish To Increase Their Muscle Mass

A total of 31 healthy, early menopausal women who had not previously participated in strength training participated in the 12-week trial. Throughout the period, the women wore either a placebo patch or an estrogen patch (transdermal estrogen therapy) on their abdomen and performed supervised strength training three times a week.

The group receiving extra estrogen had significantly greater muscle growth – the increase in muscle cross-sectional area was 7.9%, compared with 3.9% in the placebo group (1 Trusted Source
Transdermal Estrogen Therapy Improves Gains in Skeletal Muscle Mass After 12 Weeks of Resistance Training in Early Postmenopausal Women

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).

The results add to the plus list when it comes to considering estrogen therapy in the early stages of menopause. The analysis of muscle stem cells reveals that the potential for muscle growth seems to be greater when the estrogen levels are elevated for long training periods.

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After 12 weeks, they saw that the increase in whole-body fat-free mass was 5.5% in the group receiving estrogen, compared to 2.9% in the placebo group. They assume that the larger increase is explained by an increase in muscle mass (2 Trusted Source
Estrogen modulates metabolic risk profile after resistance training in early postmenopausal women: a randomized controlled trial

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).

Exercise is Good No Matter What Supplements Are Taken During Menopause

The women in the estrogen group experienced greater positive changes in key health indicators, such as cholesterol levels. Only the estrogen group had an improved cholesterol profile. Therefore, it is important to exercise during menopause, whether you choose to take hormone therapy or not.

The research results also underline the fact that all women can optimize their risk profile through regular physical activity and should aim for following the recommendations for physical activity.

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Whether you take estrogen supplements or not, physical training has a positive effect on the majority of lifestyle-related diseases and gives you more energy to stay physically active well into old age.

References:
  1. Transdermal Estrogen Therapy Improves Gains in Skeletal Muscle Mass After 12 Weeks of Resistance Training in Early Postmenopausal Women - (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7853242/)
  2. Estrogen modulates metabolic risk profile after resistance training in early postmenopausal women: a randomized controlled trial - (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34726661/)


Source-Medindia


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