Does evening primrose oil help with joint pain during perimenopause?

Evening primrose oil may help reduce joint pain and stiffness during perimenopause, though the evidence is stronger for inflammatory joint conditions than for the aching joints many women experience at midlife. It is not a replacement for medical treatment, but it may offer modest anti-inflammatory support alongside other strategies.

Evening primrose oil contains gamma-linolenic acid, or GLA. Your body converts GLA into a compound called DGLA and then into prostaglandin E1, which has anti-inflammatory effects. This pathway competes with the arachidonic acid pathway, which drives inflammation. By shifting that balance, evening primrose oil may help calm some of the inflammatory activity happening in your joints.

Estrogen has well-documented anti-inflammatory properties in joint tissue. It helps maintain cartilage and suppresses certain inflammatory proteins. When estrogen levels decline during perimenopause, that protective effect fades, and many women notice new aching, stiffness, or swelling in their knees, fingers, hips, and wrists. This is sometimes called menopausal arthralgia. Evening primrose oil's GLA-to-prostaglandin pathway may partially compensate for some of that lost estrogen-driven protection.

The best available research on evening primrose oil for joints comes from a 1996 study by Zurier and colleagues, which found meaningful improvement in joint pain and morning stiffness in people with rheumatoid arthritis using doses around 6,000 mg per day. That is a high dose studied in a specific inflammatory condition. Evidence for osteoarthritis, or for the diffuse joint aching common in perimenopause, is considerably weaker. Most of the data in this area is preliminary, and some research suggests GLA combined with omega-3 fatty acids produces better results than GLA alone. If you already take a fish oil supplement, combining it with evening primrose oil may give you a broader anti-inflammatory effect than either one alone, though this combination has not been formally tested in perimenopausal joint pain specifically.

Studies have used a wide range of doses, from 1,000 mg to 6,000 mg per day, with GLA content varying by product. For perimenopause-related joint symptoms specifically, studies have used doses in the 3,000 to 4,000 mg per day range. Always take evening primrose oil with food to reduce the chance of stomach upset and to support absorption. Talk to your healthcare provider about the right dose for your situation.

There are several important safety points to know before starting evening primrose oil. If you have or have had a hormone-sensitive condition such as breast cancer, endometriosis, or uterine fibroids, discuss evening primrose oil with your healthcare provider before using it. Evening primrose oil may interact with blood thinners and anticoagulants. It may also lower the seizure threshold, so discuss with your provider if you take any seizure medications. If you take any prescription medications, check with your provider before adding this supplement.

Joint relief from evening primrose oil, when it happens, tends to build gradually over 4 to 8 weeks of consistent use. This is not a fast-acting pain reliever. Do not judge its effectiveness after just a week or two. Some women notice meaningful improvement, others notice very little. Results vary considerably from person to person. Keeping a simple daily log of your joint pain score, which joints are affected, and how long the stiffness lasts in the morning can help you and your provider evaluate whether the supplement is doing anything meaningful. Without that kind of tracking, it is easy to either dismiss a real but modest benefit or attribute natural fluctuation to the supplement.

You should see your healthcare provider if your joint pain is sudden or severe, if it involves significant swelling, redness, or warmth, if it affects your ability to do daily tasks, or if it is accompanied by morning stiffness lasting more than an hour. These patterns can point to inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis or psoriatic arthritis that need proper diagnosis and treatment. Evening primrose oil should never substitute for that evaluation.

Tracking your joint pain daily, along with when you take evening primrose oil, helps you see whether the supplement is making a real difference over time. The PeriPlan app (https://apps.apple.com/app/periplan/id6740066498) lets you log joint pain daily so you can spot whether patterns shift over time. This content is for informational purposes only and does not replace medical advice. Always consult your healthcare provider about your specific situation.