Highbar Physical therapy & Health blog

Understanding Your Body's Journey

Women's bodies undergo incredible transformations throughout life—from the rapid growth of teenage years through the hormonal shifts of menopause and beyond. Understanding these changes empowers you to make informed decisions about your health and maintain vitality at every age.

This comprehensive guide explores women's health across four key life stages, combining the latest research with practical strategies you can implement today. Whether you're a teen athlete, navigating pregnancy, experiencing perimenopause, or embracing your golden years, this guide provides evidence-based insights to help you thrive.

Important Note: The age ranges provided in this guide are approximate and can vary significantly between individuals. Every woman's health journey is unique, and some may experience transitions earlier or later than these general timeframes. 

The Teen Years: Building Your Health Foundation (Ages 13-22)

What's Happening in Your Body

The teenage years bring dramatic physical changes as your body transitions from childhood to adulthood. During this time, you'll experience rapid growth spurts, hormonal development, and the establishment of peak bone strength that will serve you for life.

Growth and Development Between ages 11-14, you'll experience your fastest growth period. This can temporarily increase injury risk because your bones grow faster than your muscles and tendons can adapt. Think of it like outgrowing clothes—everything needs time to catch up and fit properly again.

Growth plates (the softer areas at the ends of bones) don't fully close until around age 18, making teens more vulnerable to certain injuries like Osgood-Schlatter disease (pain below the kneecap) and Sever's disease (heel pain).

Your Menstrual Cycle and Athletics If you're an athlete, understanding your menstrual cycle can be a game-changer. Research shows that ACL (knee) injury risk can be 2-3 times higher during certain parts of your cycle, particularly when estrogen levels peak around ovulation. This emerging field of research is helping female athletes train smarter and stay healthier.

Building Strong Bones for Life About 90% of your peak bone strength is built by age 20. This is like making deposits in a bone bank account—the more you put in now through weight-bearing activities, the more you'll have to draw from later in life. Weight-bearing exercise during your teens can increase your peak bone density by 5-15%.

Key Health Strategies for Teens

Nutrition That Powers Performance: If you're an active teen, your nutritional needs are unique. Iron deficiency affects up to 35% of female teen athletes (compared to just 5-11% of males), and you need about 1,300mg of calcium daily to support your growing bones.

One serious concern is the Female Athlete Triad—a combination of eating too little, irregular periods, and weakened bones. This affects up to 25% of female athletes and requires immediate attention to prevent long-term health problems.

Smart Injury Prevention: Female teen athletes face specific injury risks:

• Basketball players have ACL injury rates of about 0.31 per 1,000 practices/games. Structured training programs can reduce ACL injuries by 35%.
• Soccer has the highest overall injury rates among high school female sports
• In gymnastics, 80% of injuries are from overuse
• Distance runners experience stress fractures 15-20% of the time

Essential Focus Areas for Teen Health

1. Building Movement Skills: Focus on quality over quantity when it comes to exercise. Learning proper form for basic movements like squats, push-ups, and lunges creates a foundation for lifelong fitness. Think of this as learning the alphabet before writing sentences.

2. Staying Injury-Free: Prevention programs that include specific warm-ups, landing training, and strength work can dramatically reduce injury risk. These programs are especially important for female athletes due to differences in anatomy and hormones.

3. Mental Health Matters: About 13% of female teen athletes struggle with disordered eating. Building a healthy relationship with food, exercise, and your body image now sets the stage for lifelong wellness.

The Reproductive Years: Balancing Life and Health (Ages 22-40)

What's Happening in Your Body

During your reproductive years, you'll experience relatively stable hormones with monthly cycles that can affect energy, mood, and physical performance. If pregnancy becomes part of your journey, your body will undergo remarkable adaptations to support new life.

The Reality of Modern Life: Balancing career, relationships, and health isn't easy. Statistics show that 35% of working women experience chronic pain by age 35—often due to prolonged sitting, stress, and lack of movement.

Pregnancy Changes Everything (Temporarily): During pregnancy, your body produces a hormone called relaxin that makes ligaments more flexible throughout your body. While this helps accommodate your growing baby, it can also lead to back pain, pelvic discomfort, and hip issues that may persist after delivery.

Health Strategies for Your Prime Years

Workplace Wellness: Sitting for long periods creates predictable problems: tight hip flexors, rounded shoulders, neck strain, and back pain. The solution is simpler than you might think—take a movement break every 30-45 minutes, even if it's just standing and stretching. Consider a standing desk for part of your day.

Exercise During Pregnancy: Contrary to old-fashioned advice, staying active during pregnancy is not only safe but beneficial. Regular exercise can:

• Reduce back pain and improve posture
• Boost mood and energy levels
• Help manage healthy weight gain
• Potentially shorten labor
• Speed recovery after delivery

If you weren't active before pregnancy, start slowly and get professional guidance to ensure you're exercising safely.

Postpartum Reality Check: Up to 45% of women still have physical issues a year after giving birth—things like back pain, abdominal muscle separation (diastasis recti), or hip problems. These aren't things you need to "just live with."

Key Health Areas for Your Prime Years

1. Strength Training Through Changes: Whether pregnant, postpartum, or neither, maintaining strength is crucial. During pregnancy, exercise needs modification but not elimination. After delivery, gradually rebuilding strength while considering healing tissues is essential.

2. Pelvic Floor Health: About 35% of women over 30 experience pelvic floor problems—issues with the muscles that support your bladder, uterus, and bowels. This can cause leaking urine, pelvic pain, or a feeling of heaviness. The good news is these problems are treatable.

3. Comprehensive Pregnancy Support: From prenatal fitness to postpartum recovery, professional guidance can help you navigate this major life transition while maintaining your health and function.

4. Work-Life Balance: Making small adjustments to your workspace during pregnancy and when returning to work—including considerations for breastfeeding—can make a huge difference in your comfort and health.

Perimenopause: Navigating the Change (Ages 40-55)

What's Happening in Your Body

Perimenopause can start as early as age 40 and typically lasts 4-8 years. During this time, your estrogen levels fluctuate and gradually decline, affecting much more than just your periods.

Since estrogen receptors are found throughout your body—in bones, muscles, joints, and even your brain—declining estrogen creates widespread changes:

• Bone loss speeds up to 1-2% per year
• Muscle mass decreases by about 1% annually after age 40
• Joints may feel stiffer and less comfortable
• Your metabolism slows by 2-3% each decade

Hot Flashes and Sleep Issues About 75-80% of women experience hot flashes, which result from changes in your brain's temperature control center. These often disrupt sleep, creating a cycle that affects energy, mood, and recovery.

Managing Perimenopause Naturally

Exercise as Medicine: Regular exercise can be incredibly effective for managing perimenopausal symptoms:

• Strength training reduces hot flashes by 20-25%
• Weight-bearing exercise helps maintain bone strength
• Cardio improves sleep quality and mood
• Yoga and flexibility work ease joint stiffness

Adapting Your Exercise Routine: As your body changes, your workout routine should too. Focus on:

• Resistance training 2-3 times per week to combat muscle loss
• Weight-bearing activities like walking, dancing, or hiking for bone health
• Flexibility and mobility work for joint comfort
• Core strengthening to support your spine and prevent posture changes

Essential Health Strategies for Perimenopause

1. Smart Strength Training: Combat muscle loss with resistance exercises that emphasize movements you use in daily life. Complement this with stretching and mobility work that supports both physical and mental well-being.

2. Protecting Your Bones: Prevent accelerated bone loss through consistent exercise. Weight-bearing activities, resistance training, and even tools like weighted vests (which are becoming increasingly popular) can help maintain bone strength.

3. Natural Symptom Management: Exercise alone can significantly reduce many perimenopausal symptoms. Find activities you enjoy—whether that's morning walks, evening yoga, or weekend bike rides—and stick with them consistently.

4. Mind-Body Connection: The link between physical and mental health becomes especially important during perimenopause. Activities that combine movement with mindfulness, like tai chi or yoga, can address both physical symptoms and emotional well-being.

The Golden Years: Thriving in Later Life (Ages 55+)

What's Happening in Your Body

After menopause, your body adapts to life without estrogen. While this brings challenges, it's important to know that decline isn't inevitable. With the right approach, you can maintain and even build strength well into your 80s and beyond.

The Numbers to Know

• 50% of women over 50 will experience an osteoporosis-related fracture
• Muscle mass loss accelerates to 1-2% per year after menopause
• 30% of adults over 65 fall each year, but women are at higher risk
• Without estrogen's protection, heart disease risk increases

Redefining Aging

The goal isn't just to live longer—it's to live well. Research shows that structured exercise programs can improve your ability to do daily activities by 15-25%, even in your 70s and 80s. This means staying independent, active, and engaged in the things you love.

Smart Strategies for Healthy Aging: Focus on what matters most for daily life:

• Balance training (like tai chi) can reduce fall risk by up to 40%
• Strength training maintains muscle and bone strength
• Flexibility exercises keep you mobile for everyday activities
• Social activities that include movement provide both physical and mental benefits

Priority Health Areas for Healthy Aging

1. Building and Maintaining Strength: Strength gains are still possible in your 70s, 80s, and beyond. Focus on functional movements like getting up from chairs, climbing stairs, and carrying groceries—activities that keep you independent.

2. Managing Chronic Pain and Conditions: Progressive exercise programs can often help you avoid or delay joint replacements, surgeries, or medications with side effects. Movement really is medicine, even for arthritis and other chronic conditions.

3. Bone Health at Any Age: Managing osteopenia and osteoporosis (affecting about 54% of postmenopausal women) doesn't mean being fragile. Safe, appropriate exercise can still build bone strength even years after menopause.

4. Staying Active and Connected: Create sustainable activity plans that work with any health limitations you may have. Group activities like walking clubs, water aerobics, or gardening groups combine the physical benefits of movement with the mental health benefits of social connection.

The Role of Physical Therapy in Women's Health

The physical therapists at Highbar are movement experts who understand how your body changes throughout life. We're trained to guide you through each phase with specialized knowledge about female physiology, biomechanics, and the unique challenges women face.

From preventing sports injuries in young athletes to supporting recovery after childbirth, managing perimenopausal symptoms, and helping older adults maintain independence, physical therapy offers evidence-based solutions that address your current needs while planning for your future health.

Your Health Journey Starts Now

Understanding what happens to your body during each life phase is the first step. The next step is taking action—implementing strategies that fit your current life stage, goals, and circumstances.

Every phase of life offers opportunities to optimize your health, build strength, and maintain vitality. Whether you're just starting to think about your health or looking to make changes at any age, the key is to start where you are and move forward with intention and support.

Your health is an investment in your future self. Make it a priority today.

Ready to take the next step in your health journey?  Find a location near you!