Can Tirzepatide Cause Body Aches? Not a Listed Side Effect
Can tirzepatide cause body aches? Body aches are not a listed side effect: neither the Zepbound nor the Mounjaro FDA label lists muscle pain, joint pain or body aches. A 2026 study of FDA adverse event reports linked tirzepatide to reports of muscle atrophy, and GLP-1 drugs as a group to back pain and muscle pain.
The label trial data list no aches, and the signals that exist come from reports, which cannot prove cause. This page lays out each source and what it does and does not show.
Short answer
- Is it on the label?
- No. Our full-text search of the Zepbound and Mounjaro labels found no listing for body aches, muscle pain, joint pain, back pain or flu-like symptoms.
- What the reports show
- A 2026 FAERS adverse event report study (PMID 41748946) linked tirzepatide to muscle atrophy and neck mass, and GLP-1 drugs as a group to back pain and muscle pain. Median onset was 30 days or less.
- What the trials show
- In the SURMOUNT-1 body composition substudy (PMID 39996356), about 25% of the weight lost was lean mass, the same share as on placebo.
- What the label says to do
- Talk to your healthcare provider about any side effect that bothers you or does not go away.
Sources: Zepbound FDA prescribing information, label version 40; Mounjaro FDA prescribing information, label version 40; FAERS adverse event report study, Naunyn Schmiedebergs Arch Pharmacol 2026 (PMID 41748946); SURMOUNT-1 body composition substudy, Diabetes Obes Metab 2025 (PMID 39996356)
What the Zepbound and Mounjaro labels list
Neither label lists body aches. The Zepbound list of most common side effects is mostly stomach effects, plus feeling tired, injection site reactions, allergic reactions and hair loss.
The Zepbound patient information says the most common side effects include: nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, constipation, stomach (abdominal) pain, indigestion, injection site reactions, feeling tired, allergic reactions, belching, hair loss and heartburn.
Our full-text search of the Zepbound and Mounjaro labels found no listing for body aches. We searched for myalgia, muscle pain, body ache, arthralgia, joint pain, flu-like, back pain, musculoskeletal and pain in extremity. Not being on a label does not prove there is no link. It means aches are not a labelled side effect.
Sources: Zepbound FDA prescribing information, label version 40; Mounjaro FDA prescribing information, label version 40
Every source on tirzepatide and body aches, side by side
Only adverse event reports point to muscle or back pain, and those reports group tirzepatide apart from other GLP-1 drugs. The table shows what each source found.
| Record kind | Record | What it says on aches |
|---|---|---|
| FDA label | Zepbound prescribing information, label version 40 (August 2026) | Not listed. The most common side effects list includes feeling tired, but no muscle, joint or body pain. |
| FDA label | Mounjaro prescribing information, label version 40 (August 2026) | Our full-text search found no listing for body aches, muscle pain, joint pain, back pain or flu-like symptoms. |
| Trial substudy | SURMOUNT-1 body composition substudy, Diabetes Obes Metab 2025 (PMID 39996356) | About 75% of weight lost was fat and 25% lean mass, the same split as placebo. A body composition study, not a pain study. |
| Adverse event report study | FAERS pharmacovigilance study, Naunyn Schmiedebergs Arch Pharmacol 2026 (PMID 41748946) | Reports to the FDA adverse event system, not a trial. GLP-1 drugs as a group: back pain and muscle pain (myalgia). Tirzepatide: muscle atrophy and neck mass. |
| Meta-analysis | GLP-1 Receptor Agonists and Musculoskeletal Outcomes, Drugs 2026 (PMID 42730869) | Lean body mass went down. No significant change in a joint pain, function and stiffness score (WOMAC). |
Sources: Zepbound FDA prescribing information, label version 40; Mounjaro FDA prescribing information, label version 40; FAERS adverse event report study, Naunyn Schmiedebergs Arch Pharmacol 2026 (PMID 41748946); Meta-analysis, GLP-1 Receptor Agonists and Musculoskeletal Outcomes, Drugs 2026 (PMID 42730869); SURMOUNT-1 body composition substudy, Diabetes Obes Metab 2025 (PMID 39996356)
What adverse event reports show about muscle and back pain
A 2026 study of reports to the FDA's adverse event system (FAERS), not a trial, found that, at the level of single reported terms, GLP-1 drugs were linked to back pain, myalgia (muscle pain) and neck mass. Tirzepatide was linked to muscle atrophy and neck mass.
Notice the split. In that study, muscle pain and back pain were signals for the GLP-1 drug group, which the study reported separately from tirzepatide. The tirzepatide signal was muscle atrophy, meaning muscle wasting, not pain.
Timing was early. The FAERS study (PMID 41748946) says the median time to onset was 30 days or less for both GLP-1 drugs and tirzepatide.
These are reports to the FDA's adverse event system, not a trial. They show what was reported, not how often something happens or whether the drug caused it.
Sources: FAERS adverse event report study, Naunyn Schmiedebergs Arch Pharmacol 2026 (PMID 41748946)
What the tirzepatide trials report
Body aches are not a listed side effect from the trials behind the Zepbound and Mounjaro labels. The trial finding closest to muscles is body composition: in the SURMOUNT-1 body composition substudy (PMID 39996356), about 75% of the weight lost was fat mass and 25% was lean mass.
That split was the same for tirzepatide and placebo. So in this trial, the share of weight lost as lean mass on tirzepatide matched placebo.
A 2026 meta-analysis in Drugs (PMID 42730869) found a consistent, significant decrease in lean body mass, also called fat-free mass. Losing lean mass is not the same as having aches.
The 2025 joint nutrition advisory says structured strength training, or strength plus aerobic training, is well established to help preserve lean mass during weight loss.
Sources: SURMOUNT-1 body composition substudy, Diabetes Obes Metab 2025 (PMID 39996356); Meta-analysis, GLP-1 Receptor Agonists and Musculoskeletal Outcomes, Drugs 2026 (PMID 42730869); Nutritional priorities to support GLP-1 therapy for obesity, joint Advisory, Obesity 2025 (PMC12304835)
Can tirzepatide cause joint pain?
Joint pain is not on either label, and pooled studies did not find a change in joint scores. The 2026 meta-analysis in Drugs (PMID 42730869) reported no significant change in WOMAC pain, physical function and stiffness.
WOMAC is the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index, a standard questionnaire for joint pain, stiffness and function. The meta-analysis covered GLP-1 drugs as a group.
Sources: Meta-analysis, GLP-1 Receptor Agonists and Musculoskeletal Outcomes, Drugs 2026 (PMID 42730869)
Can tirzepatide make you tired and achy?
Tired, yes: feeling tired is on the Zepbound list of most common side effects. Achy is not on the label. The labels do not link the two.
For the fatigue figures from the trials, see does tirzepatide make you tired. For the other common side effects, see tirzepatide diarrhea and does Zepbound cause heartburn.
Sources: Zepbound FDA prescribing information, label version 40
Antibodies and allergic reactions on tirzepatide
Many people make antibodies to tirzepatide, but the labels do not link them to aches. In the Zepbound FDA label (Section 6.2, weight reduction studies 1 and 2), 64.5% of patients (1,591 of 2,467) developed anti-tirzepatide antibodies. In the Mounjaro FDA label (Section 6.2), the figure is 51% (2,570 of 5,025).
- The Zepbound label says no clinically significant effect of these antibodies on how the drug works or how well it works has been found.
- The Zepbound label says hypersensitivity (allergic-type) reactions were more frequent in people with antibodies: 6.2%, against 3% in people without them.
Sources: Zepbound FDA prescribing information, label version 40; Mounjaro FDA prescribing information, label version 40
When the Zepbound label says to get help
The label names two situations for urgent help: a serious allergic reaction, and severe stomach pain that will not go away. That pain can be felt from the belly through to the back.
Serious allergic reaction: the label says to stop using Zepbound and get medical help right away for swelling of the face, lips, tongue or throat, problems breathing or swallowing, severe rash or itching, or fainting or feeling dizzy.
Pancreatitis: the label says to stop using Zepbound and call your healthcare provider right away for severe pain in the stomach area that will not go away, with or without nausea or vomiting. The pain may be felt from the abdomen to the back.
For anything else, the label says to talk to your healthcare provider if you have any side effect that bothers you or does not go away. For the dose steps, see the tirzepatide dosage guide.
Sources: Zepbound FDA prescribing information, label version 40
Tirzepatide body ache questions
Can tirzepatide cause body aches?+
Body aches are not a listed side effect. Neither the Zepbound nor the Mounjaro FDA label lists muscle pain, joint pain or body aches. A 2026 study of FDA adverse event reports linked GLP-1 drugs as a group to back pain and muscle pain, and tirzepatide to muscle atrophy, but reports like these cannot prove the drug caused them.
Can Zepbound cause body aches?+
Zepbound is tirzepatide, so the answer is the same. Its most common side effects list includes nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, constipation, stomach pain, indigestion, injection site reactions, feeling tired, allergic reactions, belching, hair loss and heartburn. Body aches are not on it. The label says to talk to your healthcare provider about any side effect that bothers you or does not go away.
Can tirzepatide make you tired and achy?+
Feeling tired is on the Zepbound label as a common side effect. Aches are not, and the labels do not link the two.
Can Zepbound cause chest pain?+
Chest pain is not on the Zepbound list of most common side effects. The label urges prompt help for severe stomach pain that will not go away, which can be felt from the belly through to the back, and for signs of a serious allergic reaction such as trouble breathing or swallowing. Chest pain is a question for a clinician.
Does tirzepatide cause muscle loss?+
Some of the weight lost is lean mass. In the SURMOUNT-1 body composition substudy (PMID 39996356), about 75% of the weight lost was fat mass and 25% was lean mass, for both tirzepatide and placebo. A 2026 meta-analysis in Drugs (PMID 42730869) found lean body mass went down with GLP-1 drugs.
Can tirzepatide cause joint pain?+
Joint pain is not on the Zepbound or Mounjaro label. A 2026 meta-analysis in Drugs (PMID 42730869) found no significant change in a standard score for joint pain, physical function and stiffness (WOMAC).
Sources: Zepbound FDA prescribing information, label version 40; Mounjaro FDA prescribing information, label version 40; FAERS adverse event report study, Naunyn Schmiedebergs Arch Pharmacol 2026 (PMID 41748946); Meta-analysis, GLP-1 Receptor Agonists and Musculoskeletal Outcomes, Drugs 2026 (PMID 42730869); SURMOUNT-1 body composition substudy, Diabetes Obes Metab 2025 (PMID 39996356)
Related tirzepatide guides
This guide is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice. It describes what FDA labels, an adverse event report study, a meta-analysis and a clinical trial substudy report about body aches and tirzepatide. Questions about your own symptoms or medicine belong with a licensed clinician.