Despite the fact that there’s much debate about whether cold weather can cause joint and muscle pain, many people struggle with pain once the temperature outside drops.
In fact, a study found that ‘72% of people feel that they suffer more with joint discomfort and stiffness due to the weather’, emphasising how prevalent of an issue it is. Although cold weather isn’t the cause of conditions such as arthritis, it has the potential to exacerbate these conditions along with general stiffness and joint pain.
That said, there are things that you can try to help manage your joint and muscle pain during the winter. To manage and alleviate joint and muscle pain caused by cold weather, you can try:
- Keeping warm at home
- Prioritising vitamin D intake
- Dressing appropriately for the weather
- Seeing a chiropractor
1. Keeping Warm At Home
You can help manage joint and muscle pain by keeping your house warm during the colder seasons.
While it can be tempting to see how long you can last without turning the central heating on in order to save money, this can have a bigger impact on your body than you might initially think.
In fact, living in a cold house increases the risk of exacerbating conditions such as respiratory conditions, arthritis, and mental illnesses, not to mention the impact this can have on the home itself when you consider condensation, damp, and mould.
If you’re already suffering from joint pain, keeping warm indoors is a good way to relax your muscles and decrease the stiffness in your joints.
2. Prioritising Vitamin D Intake
The next way you can manage your joint and muscle pain during the cold weather is to prioritise vitamin D intake.
A vitamin D deficiency occurs ‘when the body doesn’t get enough vitamin D from sunlight or diet’, thus causing problems with both your bones and muscles.
In the UK, the sun sets as early as 4pm during the winter, which means you might not be getting enough sunlight or vitamin D, especially if you work indoors all day everyday.
As such, you will need to ensure that you’re closely monitoring what you’re eating to ensure you’re consuming a healthy, balanced diet throughout the darker months.
Foods such as salmon, tuna, as well as supplements like cod liver oil are good sources of vitamin D and have their benefits.
That said, if you suspect that you are struggling with a vitamin D deficiency, then you will want to make sure that you visit your doctor on what they would recommend to increase your vitamin D intake.
3. Dressing Appropriately For The Weather
The next way you can help your joint and muscle pain is to dress appropriately for the weather.
This might sound simple, but it can’t be stressed enough that not wearing enough layers of clothing can render you cold and susceptible to a variety of different health conditions, especially during the winter.
You will need to ensure that you’re wearing gloves, as your hands being exposed can quickly lead to conditions such as chilblains and Raynaud’s disease which can both be very painful.
Additionally, investing in thermals and layering them under your clothes before you go outside is a good idea to ensure that you remain warm no matter the weather.
4. Seeing A Chiropractor
One of the best ways to manage joint pain during winter is to see a chiropractor.
Booking in with a chiropractor can be an effective method to reduce your pain and stress, as well as ease your stiff muscles and joints caused by a variety of different conditions, including arthritis.
Your chiropractor will come up with a treatment plan that suits your needs and lifestyle, helping you to get your health back on track with various techniques depending on your condition.
At Fox Chiropractic, we provide both chiropractic care and massage therapy to help manage your aches and pains. If you’re interested in seeing a chiropractor, be sure to contact a friendly member of the Fox Chiropractic team today.
Hopefully this article has given you a better understanding of how to manage your joint and muscle pain during the colder months.
We are Fox Chiropractic: specialists in the diagnosis and treatment of musculoskeletal injury or pain. For more information about the services we provide, check out our website or get in touch to speak to a friendly member of the team on 07540 942 448 / info@foxchiropractic.co.uk.
Written by Jemima Thomas for Fox Chiropractic.