Swimming is the exercise most often recommended to women with painful joints, and it deserves the recommendation. It also has one specific limitation that matters a great deal in this decade, and it is almost never mentioned alongside the advice.
Where we stand: Menova is an independent publication. We sell no memberships and no equipment, we are not your doctor, and this is general education, not an exercise prescription.
What it is genuinely good for
- Cardiovascular fitness, with very low joint load
- Accessible when weight-bearing hurts — knees, hips, back, feet; see knee pain in midlife and back pain in midlife
- Muscular endurance across the whole body
- Cool. For women whose flashes are triggered by exercising in a warm gym, this is not trivial — see hot flash triggers and relief
- Sustainable. People keep doing it for decades, which matters more than any single session
- Social and scheduled, which is what actually sustains exercise habits — see friendships in midlife
- Sleep and mood, as with most regular exercise
The gap
Swimming does not load bone.
Bone responds to mechanical load — impact and resistance. Water removes weight-bearing, which is exactly why swimming is comfortable and exactly why it does not build bone. Studies of swimmers generally do not find the bone density advantage seen in weight-bearing athletes.
That matters because bone loss is fastest in the years around menopause, and swimming is frequently the only exercise a woman with joint pain is doing.
The fix is not to stop swimming. It is to add something that loads.
- Resistance training twice a week — see strength training in menopause and walking into a gym at 50
- Walking, ideally with some hills
- Brief impact — jumping or skipping, if appropriate for you
- Balance work, because falls are what turn low bone density into fractures
Swimming plus lifting is an excellent combination. Swimming alone leaves the biggest midlife risk unaddressed.
Getting more from the water
If swimming is your main exercise:
- Intervals. Steady lengths at a comfortable pace plateau quickly. Faster efforts with rest raise the training effect substantially
- Aqua aerobics and water resistance classes add muscular work
- Water dumbbells and resistance paddles, which increase drag
- Vary the stroke to use different muscles
- Aqua jogging, which some people use during injury recovery
Practical points for this decade
Skin and hair. Chlorine is drying, and midlife skin is already drier. Rinse before swimming so your skin absorbs less pool water, shower after, and moisturise on damp skin — see a skincare routine for menopausal skin.
Vulval skin. If you have lichen sclerosus or vulval irritation, apply a plain emollient as a barrier before swimming, and rinse afterwards — see lichen sclerosus.
Leaking. If pelvic floor symptoms are why you moved to swimming, treat them rather than only accommodating them. Pelvic health physiotherapy works — see leaking when you exercise.
Bleeding. Heavy or unpredictable perimenopausal bleeding makes swimming logistically difficult. A menstrual cup or disc has far higher capacity than a tampon and is the practical answer — see period products when bleeding becomes unpredictable. And heavy bleeding is treatable, which is the better fix; see comparing the treatment options.
Hormone patches. Most stay on in water, and heat and prolonged soaking affect adhesion. If yours peels in the pool, that is a known problem — rotate sites, press firmly, and ask about a different brand; see getting HRT to actually absorb. Apply gel after swimming, not before.
Ears. Dry them thoroughly; swimmer's ear is more likely with frequent swimming.
Recurrent urinary infections. Shower and change out of a wet costume promptly rather than sitting in it — see recurrent UTIs after menopause.
Shoulders. Front crawl loads the shoulder repetitively, and midlife shoulders are more prone to tendinopathy. Vary the stroke and build volume gradually — see shoulder pain in midlife.
Open water
Increasingly popular in this age group, and covered separately because the safety considerations are different — never alone, acclimatise gradually, and speak to a clinician first if you have any cardiac condition. See cold water swimming and menopause.
If the pool is the barrier
The changing room, not the swimming, is what stops many women.
- Adult-only or quiet sessions, which most pools run
- Women-only sessions, common in many places
- A robe or changing towel, which removes most of the anxiety
- Go with someone, which makes it a commitment rather than a decision
None of that is trivial to say out loud, and it is the actual obstacle for a lot of people.
The summary
Swimming is genuinely good exercise, particularly if joints hurt, and it is one of the most sustainable things you can take up in midlife.
It does not protect your bones. Add two sessions of resistance training a week and you have covered the gap — and the swimming will feel easier for it.
The free 2-minute Menova self-check organizes your symptom picture, including the things worth treating so exercise is possible at all — no account, not a diagnosis, and your answers never leave your device.
This article is general education, not medical advice or an exercise prescription. Discuss new exercise with a licensed clinician if you have osteoporosis, a previous fracture, or a cardiovascular condition.
Sources: ODPHP — Physical Activity Guidelines, NIAMS — Osteoporosis, The Menopause Society, and NHS — Exercise.