Midlife, Menopause & Pain: An Open Conversation

Pain in midlife can be complicated.

Menopause, stress, sleep, mental health, previous injury, long-term conditions, movement, the nervous system and the wider circumstances of our lives can all influence how pain is experienced.

At the same time, our understanding of persistent pain is changing.

To mark World Menopause Day on 18 October, Menopause Matters is hosting a relaxed one-hour online conversation bringing together women with lived experience of pain in midlife alongside people working across women’s health, menopause, primary care, pain education, physiotherapy and community support.

We would love to invite you to join us as part of an open conversation with…..

• Emma Horrobin - Flippin Pain 'Painfluencer' - keen to share ideas that changed her own pain story whilst navigating surgically induced menopause and long term pain from migrine & connective-tissue problems  
• Dr Heather Wood - A South Lakes based GP with an interest in chronic pain
• Leigh Williams from Thrive Health - Local menopause support group facilitator with lived experience of recovery from debilitating persistent pain
• Clare Paling  - Public Health Project Officer (Work & Health) from Westmorland and Furness Council and Flippin Pain 'Painfluencer'
• Alison Williams - A physiotherapist specialising in pelvic health with an interest in menopause 
• Lou Turner from Evolve Somatics - Co- founder of the South Lakes Menopause & well-being Hub

This is not a formal webinar and it is not a traditional panel discussion.  There will be no long presentations or packed agenda. Instead, we want to create space for people to ask questions, share experiences, hear different perspectives and connect with others who are exploring the same issues.

Whether you are living with pain yourself, supporting someone else, or working professionally in this area, you are very welcome.

We’re going to use a short discussion prompt from Flippin’ Pain, a UK public health movement focused on changing the way we understand, talk about and respond to persistent pain, to get us started.

From there, the conversation will be shaped by the people who attend.  We might explore questions such as:
- What do we now understand about persistent pain?
- What role can the nervous system play?
- How might menopause, hormones, sleep and stress interact with pain?
- Where do mental health and emotional wellbeing fit?
- What does a biopsychosocial approach to pain actually mean in practice?
- What can pain education offer?
- What are women with lived experience telling us?
- What are professionals learning from lived experience?
- How can we have better conversations about pain in midlife?

Who is this for?
This conversation is for women experiencing pain in midlife or around menopause, including women who are trying to make sense of persistent or recurring pain, are curious about different ways of understanding it, or simply want to listen and hear from others.

It is also for professionals, practitioners and community organisations who support women in midlife, including people working in women’s health, menopause, primary care, physiotherapy, persistent pain, mental health, social prescribing, community health, wellbeing, coaching, health inequalities and the voluntary and community sector.

You do not need to be a pain specialist.

You do not need to prepare anything.

And you do not have to speak.

Come along to listen, ask questions, share your experience if you want to, and connect with other people who are thinking about this too.

How to join 
Register for your place here through TryBooking.  Once you have registered, we will send you an email with the Microsoft Teams joining link and instructions for joining the online session.

Want to explore the topic before we meet?
The International Menopause Society has produced a free Chronic Pain at Midlife factsheet for World Menopause Day 2026, with accessible information about pain, menopause and what can help.
Read the factsheet here: ​​​​

For professionals: the full 2026 IMS Chronic Pain at Midlife White Paper is also freely available here: