Why Massage Is Especially Supportive During Perimenopause
Perimenopause is often described as a transition, but for many people it can feel more like a full-body recalibration. Hormones shift, sleep changes, emotions feel closer to the surface, and familiar ways of coping may no longer work the same. It’s a time when the body asks—sometimes loudly—for more support, not less.
Massage therapy can be a powerful ally during this stage of life, offering both physical relief and nervous system regulation when things feel unpredictable or unfamiliar.
Supporting a Changing Nervous System
One of the most common experiences during perimenopause is increased nervous system sensitivity. Fluctuating estrogen and progesterone levels can impact serotonin and cortisol, contributing to anxiety, irritability, restlessness, and difficulty sleeping.
Massage helps shift the body out of a chronic “fight or flight” state and into parasympathetic mode—the state where rest, digestion, and repair happen. Through intentional touch, steady pressure, and a sense of safety, massage signals to the nervous system that it can soften, slow down, and let go. Over time, this can support better sleep, improved mood, and greater emotional resilience.
Relief for Muscle Tension, Aches, and Joint Pain
Hormonal changes can affect connective tissue, muscle tone, and inflammation levels. Many people notice new or intensified aches—especially in the neck, shoulders, hips, and lower back—or feel stiffer than they used to.
Therapeutic massage improves circulation, increases joint mobility, and reduces muscular holding patterns that often develop in response to stress or pain. Regular bodywork can help you feel more at home in your body again, rather than bracing against it.
Supporting Hormonal and Digestive Health
Perimenopause can also bring changes in digestion, bloating, or abdominal discomfort. Stress and hormonal shifts directly impact gut function, which in turn affects energy levels, immunity, and overall well-being.
Gentle abdominal and full-body massage can support circulation to the digestive organs, encourage lymphatic flow, and reduce tension patterns that interfere with healthy digestion. When the nervous system calms, digestion often improves as a natural byproduct.
A Space to Be Held, Not Fixed
Beyond the physical benefits, massage offers something many people deeply need during perimenopause: a place to rest without having to explain, perform, or hold everything together.
This phase of life often comes with grief for what’s changing, questions about identity, and a quiet (or not-so-quiet) reckoning with how much we’ve carried for others. Massage provides a rare opportunity to simply receive care—to be listened to through the body rather than the mind.
Rebuilding Trust in Your Body
Perimenopause can feel disorienting, especially if your body no longer responds the way it once did. Regular massage helps rebuild a sense of trust and communication with your body, reminding you that it is still wise, responsive, and worthy of care.
Rather than something to “get through,” perimenopause can become a time of deeper embodiment and self-attunement—with the right support.
Written by a massage therapist who runs their practice at Common Ground, Brodsky. Brodsky has been practicing since 2006, and at Common Ground since 2025.
