Menopause A to Z.pdf - Medwords.com.au

MENOPAUSE A to Z
ATROPHIC VAGINITIS
Atrophic, postmenopausal or senile vaginitis is a lack of vaginal moisture and lubrication. The vagina is kept moist
by the production of mucus from glands in and around it, that become more active during sexual stimulation. After the
menopause the female hormone oestrogen, is no longer produced by the ovaries. This hormone stimulates the vaginal
glands to produce mucus, but without oestrogen, they do not function. Blood tests can be used to measure the
oestrogen level
It is usually a condition of older women who complain of a dry, sore, itchy vagina. Ulceration and bacterial infection
of the vagina may occur, and there is an increased risk of vaginal prolapse.
Simple moisturising creams can be applied when the vagina is irritated, but give only temporary relief. The best
solution is to replace the missing oestrogen long term by using a vaginal cream once or twice a week, oestrogen
tablets daily, skin patches once or twice a week, or implants every few months. Dosages must be slowly adjusted to
suit each individual woman. The results of treatment are usually very good.
See also MENOPAUSE; VAGINA; VAGINAL PROLAPSE
BACK PAIN
Back pain (rachialgia) may occur when the intricate arrangement of bones, ligaments, discs, muscles and nerves
that makes up the back becomes strained, torn, broken, stretched or otherwise disrupted.
The most common cause of back pain is ligamentous and muscular damage from incorrect lifting. Lifting and
twisting simultaneously is particularly dangerous. A poor posture can also add to muscular and ligamentous strain.
In older people, arthritis may be the cause, when the smooth joints between the vertebrae become roughened and
damaged by age and long years of use. This is osteoarthritis, but rheumatoid arthritis, which normally affects the hands
and feet, may also affect the back.
A slight shift in the position of one vertebra on another, or inflammation of the surrounding tissues, may put pressure
on a nerve, causing sciatica (leg pain) or localised back pain.
Direct injuries may fracture or dislocate the bones in the back, causing the spinal cord to be pinched, and paralysis
of the body below that point.
There are discs of rubbery material between each vertebra that act as shock absorbers and allow movement
between the discs. These intervertebral discs may be damaged by a sudden injury, gradual deterioration with age or
many years of heavy work. A damaged disc may bulge (slipped disc) and press on a nerve as it leaves the spinal cord,
to cause pain in both the back and down the course of that nerve. Discitis is an inflammation of the disc that causes
local pain without pressing directly on a nerve.
Fibromyositis occurs in large muscles that have been overused and damaged repeatedly by heavy work or
exercise. Scattered muscle cells are replaced by fibrous scar tissue to disrupt the structure of the muscle and cause a
deep ache that worsens with use.
Osteoporosis is a thinning of the bones that occurs mainly in women after the menopause, due to a lack of calcium
in the bones. It may result in bones breaking easily anywhere in the body, but particularly in the back where the weak
vertebrae may collapse and cause pain.
Any woman who has been pregnant will confirm the distressing pain that may be caused by that condition.
Hormonal changes cause the ligaments throughout the body to slacken, and when this occurs in the back the vertebrae
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