Your midlife client isn’t hurt because of something you did necessarily. But you might be able to alter a client’s routine and avoid more issues. Her hormones are the root cause of some common injuries. Most people don’t connect the dots.
If you serve a lot of demographics you may not have the chance to see this patter with the occasional midlife client.
With 150,000 midlife women in the Flipping 50 community, I’ve seen it and we’ve pulled the research on it. So this list is not all inclusive but features three of the “little” issues that plague midlife women.
Carpel tunnel
Women are three times more likely to experience carpal tunnel than men. A high percentage of carpal tunnel occurs in menopause and beyond.
Lower estrogen production has been associated with the rise in carpal tunnel. You may see clients who have complaints, braces, casts, or are also in therapy for carpal tunnel and have to modify workouts for them.
Women with more pregnancies and early menopause tend to have more carpal tunnel syndrome in post menopause than others. Hormone changes that occur during pregnancy seem to have long term effects.
Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) can play a protective role on the incidence of carpal tunnel. It’s yet to be determined whether alternative therapies (e.g. changes in diet, exercise, sleep, herbs, acupuncture) will have the same effect for women who choose not to do HRT.
Underactive thyroid, overactive pituitary, fluid retention (often brought on during hormone imbalance), or existing inflammation are all suspected to play a role.
Plantar fasciitis
By middle age bad habits take a cumulative effect. Years of wearing high heels, mules, flip-flops. A thinning of the layer of fat on the sole for midlife women creates a disproportionate occurrence for them than in men as well.
If she suddenly starts doing speed work because some magazine, online article, or you’ve drilled into her intervals is the key to fat burning she’s also more prone.
If she’s been wearing flip flops all summer and then recommits to bootcamp or training for a 5K or half marathon (either could be a reach for someone) this fall she’s got a perfect storm.
Neck strain
Cervical spondylosis is a chronic degenerative process of the cervical spine. It affects the vertebral bodies and intervertebral disks of the neck and leads to herniated intervertebral disks, osteophytes, and ligament hypertrophy.
Lesser and not necessarily diagnosed is occipital neuralgia that feels like a migraine and comes with sensitivity to light, or pain behind the eyes. You won’t often have someone talk about this diagnosis. A massage therapist can often detect it first. Since women generally store their tension in the neck and upper back it can otherwise be overlooked.
If your clients complain that migraine medicine or headache medicine doesn’t help it might be this. An occipital release tool can help for acute problems.
Long term you can help your midlife client retrain the rhomboids to pull scapula down and toward spine. That may relieve overworking muscles in the upper back and neck and reduce the occurrence of neck strain, headaches, and ultimately cancellations.
Marketing Tip:
Write an article or create a video about any one of the common injuries – your next midlife client is looking for them.
Learn More About Hormones
Want more information on how to attract and serve midlife women? Interested in becoming a hormone balancing expert? Check out the Flipping 50 Specialist using coupon coach20july for a special limited time* discount.
Being full this fall – with freedom to have a life- will be far easier than you think.
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