Question: Every time the weather is cold, I often have aching bones and joints. Is there any way to reduce the pain? (Ngo Duc C - Phu Tho ).
According to Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Thi Kim Lien (Head of Rehabilitation Department - Viet Duc Friendship Hospital), in cold weather people often experience bone and joint pain, especially in the elderly.
Why does cold weather cause joint pain?
When it's cold, atmospheric pressure also drops and affects the tissues in the body, causing them to expand and causing joint pain when we move.
Cold weather also makes the fluid in the joints thicker and causes stiffness, joint pain, and reduced mobility.
In addition, there are some reasons why you have joint pain in cold weather such as: lack of exercise, not drinking enough water, unscientific diet, seasonal mood changes...
The joints that often ache are the middle joints, knee joints, cervical spine or spinal pain... So how to reduce joint pain in cold weather?
How to reduce joint pain at home
One of the important factors to help reduce joint pain is to keep the body warm enough combined with diet and exercise. Here are ways to reduce joint pain at home:
- Warming the body: If you have aching bones and joints, you should first try to warm your body with items available in the house such as: blankets, heating bags, turning on the air conditioner, heater... to help keep your body warm. You need to pay attention to keeping warm for some special areas such as: ankles, wrists, joints and do not go barefoot. If you let your body get cold, the first area to lose heat is the limbs. Therefore, you need to wear socks and gloves to keep your limbs warm. If you stay indoors, you should wear slippers and when you go out, you should wear shoes and boots to protect your feet. You also need to note that when it is cold, you should bathe with warm water and bathe in a place protected from the wind.
Joint pain is a common symptom in the elderly, especially when the weather turns cold.
- Maintain daily exercise: When the weather is cold, patients can maintain exercise with gentle exercises and should not exercise too hard as it will have a negative impact on bones and joints. Some recommended exercises in cold weather are: yoga, stretching exercises, spinal stretching, pilates ...
- Having a suitable diet: In addition to keeping the body warm and maintaining exercise, diet also plays an important role in helping to reduce bone and joint pain. You need to pay attention to drink enough water, avoid waiting until thirsty to drink. In addition, you need to supplement foods such as green vegetables, fruits to help provide vitamins and minerals for the body. Limit eating fried and greasy foods, do not eat too much red meat or processed foods, do not use stimulants such as alcohol, tobacco... If you are overweight or obese, you need to lose weight to have a reasonable BMI.
Keeping your body warm, staying active, drinking enough water… are ways to help reduce joint pain in cold weather.
- If you are at home and have joint pain, try moving around the house to warm up. Movement will help promote better blood circulation and make you feel warmer. Or use warm compresses such as mugwort to apply to the painful joints. However, this method does not apply to cases of inflammation.
- If you go out in cold weather, you should wear many layers of clothing to limit your skin's exposure to cold temperatures. If you go out in the rain, you should wear waterproof and windproof clothing because your body will lose heat very quickly if you get wet.
In addition, patients need to improve their mental health by having reasonable relaxation time as well as always thinking positively and optimistically. If your joint pain does not improve, you should go to a medical facility for examination and find the cause. Because joint pain can also be a warning sign of some diseases such as gout, osteoporosis, rheumatoid arthritis...
Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Thi Kim Lien
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