ITV Loose Women panellist struck with crippling pain as she gives health update

Double gold medallist Kelly Holmes has made a name for herself as a health and fitness advocate, sports commentator and, more recently, a panellist on Loose Women. However, despite her confident TV persona, the 54-year-old has been privately struggling with the menopause, confessing to OK! that she had previously been 'in denial' about it.

"About three years ago, I was getting bad body pains to the point where I couldn’t even do one push-up," Kelly told the publication. "If anyone knows me, they know I keep myself fit. So to not be able to do one push-up was alarming. The worst pains were in my wrists, then I ached through to my bones. It was just constant pain, I could feel it in my body the whole time."

Alongside this, Kelly was also battling insomnia, but was unaware at the time of the connection between hormonal changes and sleep disturbance. As her symptoms persisted, the Olympian was advised to undergo tests to determine if she was menopausal.

"I did the blood tests, reluctantly, because again, I was in denial of my age and now I realise that’s almost a naïve thing to think, as you could experience the menopause from late thirties upwards," she said. "I was not in a great place mentally,” she explains. “But now I know that the menopause was probably a contribution."

Her test results showed extremely low oestrogen and testosterone levels, prompting her doctor to recommend HRT. Kelly recalled: "But I didn’t want to have HRT, as I didn’t want to put anything I don’t understand into my body... But I also knew that I needed to try it. So I started taking it and I realised I didn’t like it."

Instead, she came off HRT and turned to collagen supplements. "I wanted natural ways to feel better. When I started taking collagen, I felt like my body pains were alleviating," she added.

Now in a better place, Kelly is keen to educate women on the importance of exercise, particularly weight lifting, due to muscle loss caused by a decline in oestrogen levels. "It’s brilliant doing fitness when you’ve been feeling low and it’s important when you’re getting weaker. So weight training has become something important to me," she explained, before adding: "Conversation is key. And those of you who are suffering, just book that appointment with a doctor. It can really make a huge difference."