Cold Weather And Joint Pain
Cold weather has often been blamed for worsening current joint pain. Many find that they have more problems, more suffering, and more side effects when it is cold outside than they normally would. Joints may ache, they may freeze up and make it harder to do everyday tasks, and this is if you don’t have regular joint pain. When you have regular joint pain, it’s truly that much worse! Many give up at this time on doing anything as they normally do. But the question is, for those who have joint pain on a regular basis, what can you do to fight this growing problem? What can you do to fight the joint pain often associated with it?
First of all, choose appropriate clothing. This will help you to keep your joints warm during the winter. But make sure that your clothing is breathable, as otherwise you may sweat too much, which will ultimately lead to you being cold again. If you wear long johns or wool socks, many find that it can be helpful. But also wearing a jacket or sweater on a more regular basis, even when inside, can make a considerable difference.
Second, make sure that you are staying active during the day. Exercising will naturally raise your core body temperature, and therefore it will improve the temperature and function of your joints. Keep them moving whenever possible. Actually, despite the cold weather, if you are using an inside pool of course, many find swimming to be an excellent way to move joints, keeping them warm and in motion. And stretching of course is necessary.
Third, make sure to specially regulate your diet at this time. Regulating your diet is of course always important. But to eliminate a few extra pounds that may be weighing down your joints, you should be dieting. Also, one may find that eating fruits and vegetables may lend your joints some powerful and all natural anti inflammatories that can help to alleviate joint pain and stiffness. It also promotes greater healing and a more functional immune system. Some experts have called arthritis an immune disorder.
Finally, comes one major way to alleviate joint pain. Take a hot bath or shower or use a heat pack. It can directly target the area where you may be suffering joint pain right now. Your joints can be inflamed at any point in time, and while of course, taking aspirin helps, a heat pack oftentimes provides more immediate joint pain relief as does a hot bath. Some however have recommended that you take a shower over a bath for the simple fact that a bath comes with a lack of movement.
But one of the easiest ways to do this is actually to turn up your heat. Some try to keep their temperatures lower to save energy. But if you have joint pain or arthritis, many find it helpful to increase internal temperatures to 70 or 75 on a regular basis, especially in cold weather and temperatures.