JPSIM Journal of Pakistan Society of Internal Medicine J Pak Soc Intern Med 2709-8729 2710-0804 Pakistan Society of Internal Medicine 10.70302/jpsim.v2i4.2169 jpsim.v2i4.2169 Original Research Frequency Muscle and Joint Pains and Its Association with Insomnia and Hand Grip Strength Among Middle Aged Women Nawaz Arzoo 786.arzoo.nawaz@gmail.com * Anjum Sidra Ahmad Faraz University of Lahore Riphah International Islamic University, Lahore *Correspondence: Arzoo Nawaz (786.arzoo.nawaz@gmail.com) 14 12 2021 2021 2 4 312 315 09 08 2021 12 12 2021 Copyright © 2021 The Author(s) 2021 The Author(s) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Objective

In menopause transition the muscles and joint pains are commonly experienced by women of middle age however the mechanism behind this not accurately known. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of muscle and joint pains and its association with insomnia and hand grip strength among middle aged women.

 Methodology

A cross sectional study design was conducted on 171 middle aged women who had complaint of muscle and joint pain. MenQol questionnaire was used. Characteristics regarding menopausal symptoms which include vasomotor, psychosocial, physical and sexual domains were assessed. Hand Grip Dynamometer was used to check the muscle strength. Data was analyzed using SPSS 21.0.

 Results

The results showed a notable proportion of women that remained troubled by muscle and joint pains with 17% who are troubled by 1-2 times a week, 42.7% who had problem 3-4 times a week and 40.4% who had pain sensations almost every day. Hence a significant association was proved among muscle and joint aches with sleep difficulty (P-Value .001) and hand grip strength (P-Value .001).

 Conclusion

There is a significant prevalence of muscle and joint aches among women of middle aged. Factors independently associated with these symptoms are insomnia and grip strength. In this population management of insomnia may lead to improvement in muscle and joint pains which in turn might help to restore had grip strength. On the other hand treatment of hand pain might decrease insomnia along with improvement in the grip strength.

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