5 Pain Management Tips For Older Women

By Zea's co-founder (and naturopath and product developer), Michelle Brass

How to relieve pain naturally at 50, 60, 70 and beyond

1. Stop treating pain as "just part of getting older"

The biggest mistake I see isn't a wrong treatment - it's no treatment. So many women quietly put up with daily discomfort for years because they've decided it's simply what ageing feels like. Persistent aches deserve attention. See your GP, get the right diagnosis, and then actually manage it - daily, consistently. Pain you address early is far easier to live with than pain you've ignored for a decade.

2. Keep moving - gently, but every day

It feels counterintuitive when your knees ache, but movement is one of the best things you can give a stiff joint. You don't need a gym - a daily walk, gentle stretching, swimming, hydrotherapy, tai chi or a beginner's yoga class all count. The rule I give my customers: motion is lotion. Little and often beats one big effort followed by a week on the couch.

3. Make warmth part of your evening routine

Warmth relaxes tight muscles and soothes stiff joints - which is why a warm bath before bed is one of the oldest pain remedies in the book, and still one of the best. I like to add mineral bath salts to turn a soak into something more therapeutic. Twenty minutes of warm water across every sore joint at once, followed by an early night. Better sleep means less pain the next day - the two feed each other.

4. Be careful leaning on pills long-term

Many women I speak to have been taking oral anti-inflammatories on and off for years without ever discussing it with their doctor. Long-term NSAID use can affect the stomach, kidneys and heart - the warnings are right there on the packet. I'm not telling you to throw anything out; medication has its place. But if you're reaching for tablets most days, it's worth a conversation with your GP - and worth knowing that topical pain relief exists. Applied to the skin directly over the sore joint, it works locally, right where you need it, without going through your digestive system.

5. Try Kunzea - the Tasmanian plant we built our family business on

This is the tip that changed everything for our family. Kunzea ambigua is a flowering shrub that grows wild in north-east Tasmania. When I first started working with Kunzea oil as a naturopath, I was so impressed by it that we built an entire product range around it - starting from a little market stall in Tasmania in 2016.

Today our Kunzea Pain Relief Cream is a TGA-listed medicine (AUST L 360 331) for the temporary relief of arthritis, joint and muscular aches and pains. That's not a wellness claim - it's a listing with the same regulator that oversees every medicine in Australia.

It's 100% naturally derived, non-greasy and fast-absorbing, with no menthol, no camphor and no "locker room" smell - which matters more than you'd think when you're applying it every day. You simply massage a small amount into the skin over the joint that's troubling you: fingers, knees, hips, shoulders, lower back.

More than 150,000 Australians have now used our range, and it holds a 4.9-star average across 14,000+ verified reviews. A great many of those reviews come from women my age.

Is there a woman over 50 who hasn't been told her aches and pains are "just part of getting older"?

The whole idea behind Zea is relief, naturally. Women shouldn't have to rely on handfuls of pills to get through the day - especially in their 50s, 60s, 70s and beyond.

You should be able to manage everyday aches and pains simply and naturally, with just a few products that let you keep doing what you love. That's why our original founder, naturopath Michelle Brass, co-created Zea and our range of natural Kunzea-based products - wild-harvested in Tasmania - that can easily replace the clutter in your medicine cabinet.

Zea Relief products come in recyclable kunzea-green tubes and pouches that fit in the palm of your hand. They are sold on the Zea website and stocked in thousands of stores across Australia.

The three products Michelle recommends starting with: Kunzea Pain Relief Cream, a TGA-listed medicine (AUST L 360 331) for temporary relief of arthritis, joint and muscular pain in knees, hands, hips, shoulders and backs; Kunzea Roll-On, a no-mess, no-touch roll-on ideal for larger areas and sore fingers that find creams fiddly; and Kunzea Bath Salts, a mineral sea salt and Kunzea blend for a 20-minute evening soak that reaches every sore joint at once.

Our original founder, Michelle Brass, created our first Kunzea formulations. As a naturopath and product developer, Michelle had unique insight into exactly how to relieve everyday aches and pains naturally at every age. Michelle always says: "Women over 50 don't need to be told to slow down. They need pain relief that lets them keep going."

"The biggest pain management mistake older women make is deciding their pain is normal — and telling no one about it," Michelle says. "Not their doctor, not their family. They simply put up with it, year after year. You don't get a medal for putting up with pain. Address it early, and it's far easier to live with."

Long before Zea reached thousands of stores across Australia, it started as a family market stall in Tasmania in 2016.

Michelle began her career as a naturopath, helping everyday Australians manage their pain and wellbeing naturally. It was there she discovered Kunzea ambigua — the native Tasmanian plant that would later become the heart of the entire Zea Relief range.

Working with Kunzea oil wild-harvested in north-east Tasmania, Michelle developed the original Kunzea Pain Relief Cream — now a TGA-listed medicine (AUST L 360 331). What began at a market stall has since been featured by WIN News, the Daily Mail, Who and 7 News, and is stocked in Woolworths, TerryWhite Chemmart and pharmacies across the country.

A decade on, Zea remains 100% family-owned. As a naturopath, Michelle wanted to create the exact products she would recommend in her own clinic: natural, gentle and genuinely effective. She wanted a range that was not about masking pain with harsh chemicals, but about relieving it naturally at every age. We are proud to say: she succeeded. The result is gentle, effective natural relief that's ideal for every age.

Michelle's philosophy lives on in the 150,000+ Australians who use Zea Relief products every day — many of them women in their 50s, 60s and 70s.

"Today, Michelle's philosophy lives on in the 150,000+ Australians who use Zea Relief natural pain relief products."

What women are saying about us...

"I have tried so many pain relief creams for arthritis, muscular aches, sporting injuries over my lifetime. None have been as effective as Kunzea. An additional bonus is that there is only a mild fresh odour — instead of the traditional locker room smell."

— Margaret Hemsley, Verified Buyer

All Zea products are tailor-made for environmentally conscious women.

We care about making our products safe and healthy for you—and our planet. That's why we're a certified B Corp and 1% for the Planet member, with 100% recyclable tubes, no parabens and no synthetic analgesics. We also never test our products on animals.

Always read the label and follow the directions for use. Anyone can have allergies — if any discomfort or a rash develops, discontinue use and consult your health professional.