What if the pain you’ve been living with — the achy knees, the stiff back, the shoulder that’s been bothering you for years — wasn’t a sign that you’re broken, but a message that something’s out of balance?

In Part 2 of my conversation with Dr. Erin Boynton — orthopedic surgeon, elite tennis player, and one of the first women to work in both the MLB and NHL — we get into the stuff nobody tells you about injury, recovery, and what it actually takes to heal your body after 40.

We cover:

• Why disc degeneration is incredibly common after 40 and doesn’t have to mean surgery
• The single biggest mistake people make when they start exercising again (hint: it’s not what you think)
• Why your body needs relative rest — not complete rest — to heal
• The “big toe test” Dr. B uses with her patients (try this at home — it’ll tell you a lot)
• What’s most overrated in injury recovery and what’s massively underrated
• Why pain is actually your body’s voice — and how to start listening to it
• The mindset that separates people who recover from those who don’t

Dr. Boynton closes with a message that I think every woman over 40 needs to hear: it is never too late. She didn’t take up tennis until her 30s. The body can always adapt.

If you’re someone who’s been putting off getting back to movement because things hurt — this one’s for you.

Follow Dr. Erin Boynton on Instagram: @DOCTORERINB

Follow Andrew on Instagram: @Iamandrewblakey

🎁 FREE: Strong After 40 — 7-Day Mini Course If this episode motivated you to start moving but you’re not sure where to begin, I built this free course for exactly that. Every day for 7 days, I’ll send a new lesson straight to your inbox to help you start strength training the right way — no gym required. 👉 https://blakeybreakthrough.academy/strongafter40

💪 Ready to go all in? Join the Blakey Breakthrough A 12-week online program where I take you through a full strength training curriculum with live workouts, real coaching, and a community of women doing this alongside you. 👉 blakeybreakthrough.com

Joint pain after 40? If you've rested your knee, shoulder or back and the pain keeps coming back, there's a reason, and it isn't your age.

This is part one of a two-part conversation with Dr. Erin Boynton, the first female orthopaedic surgeon in both Major League Baseball and the NHL. She's worked with the Toronto Blue Jays, the Maple Leafs, the Argos and the National Ballet, spent 16 years as medical director at the Rogers Cup, published over 30 research papers, and won the J. Édouard Samson Award for career orthopaedic research in Canada. She raised two kids while doing it, and she's currently ranked 18th in the world in tennis in her age category.

If you're dealing with knee pain, shoulder pain, a rotator cuff tear, or a back that keeps going out, this one is for you.

In this episode, you'll learn:

- Why rest eases joint pain but doesn't heal the injury, explained with a car-and-tire analogy you won't forget - Why your knee or shoulder can hurt when the real problem is somewhere else in the body - What happened when she gave shoulder patients movement work instead of surgery, and how many got better - Why a partial rotator cuff tear on your MRI may not mean what you think it means - The four pillars of a movement foundation, and why strength training before you fix your alignment can backfire - What she learned as the only woman in the room, and her honest advice on career and motherhood

"Move the body the right way and it will heal. Move it the wrong way and it breaks down."

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 - Meet Dr. Erin Boynton 01:03 - Why she wrote The Injury Guide 01:49 - Being one of the 2%: women in orthopaedic surgery 03:28 - How to handle a male-dominated workplace 05:17 - Four weeks of leave: building a surgical career with a newborn 06:59 - Why you can't be a supermom, and what to do instead 08:50 - Why change takes men and women together 09:58 - Is rest really best for an injury? 12:10 - The muscle discovery that changed how she treats patients 13:09 - The car and tire analogy: why your pain keeps coming back 16:10 - What "realigning the wheels" actually means in your body 17:53 - Partial rotator cuff tears and what your MRI really shows 19:41 - The patients who skipped surgery and got better anyway 21:00 - The four pillars of a movement foundation 22:37 - Why strengthening before alignment can make things worse 24:10 - Coming up in part two

Part two is the practical side: what 15 minutes a day should look like, a test you can do on your own foot right now, and exactly where to start if you're deconditioned and scared of making things worse.

Connect with Dr. Erin Boynton: Website: https://doctorerinb.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doctorerinb/

Mentioned in this episode: The Injury Guide by Dr. Erin Boynton On Amazon - https://link.amazon/B02rWQY0B

LOVE THE SHOW? Subscribe so you never miss an episode:

If this episode helped you, please leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. It takes 30 seconds and helps more women over 40 find the show.

The information in this podcast is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice. Talk to your healthcare provider before making changes to your health or fitness routine.

Part one of our conversation with Amanda Thebe took off and the feedback was incredible — and part two goes even deeper. This time we're getting into the practical stuff: what you can actually do, starting today, to manage your symptoms and move through this stage of life feeling stronger and more in control.

Amanda and Andrew speak the truth about hormone therapy — who it's for, what it actually does, and what the research cannot support yet — and why the loudest voices on social media aren't always the most trustworthy ones.

Then they get into the four tools Amanda swears by for managing menopause: exercise, nutrition, sleep and stress management, and mindset. Plus the conversation that every woman over 40 needs to hear — why listening to your body on the hard days isn't giving up, it's smart training.

In this episode:

• The measured truth about hormone therapy — what it does well and what it can't do
• Why your doctor's appointment is not a menopause plan
• The four tools for managing menopause symptoms (exercise, nutrition, sleep, mindset)
• Auto-regulation and the 1–10 energy scale for training through perimenopause
• Why "intentional movement" on bad days is enough — and why showing up matters
• Amanda's Spring Women's Health platform — what it is and who it's for

If you haven't listened to Part 1 yet from last week (Episode 33), go back and start there — this conversation builds on everything covered in the first episode.

Follow Amanda on Instagram: @amanda.thebe Check out Spring Women's Health: springwomenshealth.com Follow Andrew on Instagram: @Iamandrewblakey PS I also have a brand new 7 day course called Strong After 40 for free where you can get a video sent to your inbox each day to learn how to get started with strength training by the end of our course together.