Winter Weather, Joint Pain & What To Do About It
We've all been there – the weather gets colder, we roll out of bed and are welcomed by creaking joints that seem particularly vocal during the cold weather.
As temperatures drop, many of us notice our joints becoming stiffer and more painful, making everyday movements feel like a challenging task. While it's easy to dismiss this as just another winter inconvenience, there's fascinating science behind why our joints react this way to cold weather and more importantly there’s actions you can take to help decrease this discomfort.
The Science Behind Cold-Weather Joint Pain
When temperatures plummet, three key mechanisms affect our joints:
Blood Flow Changes - Cold temperatures trigger our blood vessels to constrict, reducing circulation to our joints and surrounding tissues. Think of it as your body prioritizing blood flow to vital organs over your joints. This decreased circulation means less oxygen and fewer nutrients reaching these areas, leaving your joints feeling stiff and uncomfortable.
Pain Reception and Cold Response - Our joints contain specialized receptors that do more than just sense cold - they actually help coordinate our body's response to both cold and inflammation. When activated by cold temperatures, these receptors can amplify pain signals, especially in joints that are already tender or inflamed. This is why that old knee injury or arthritic joint might feel particularly uncomfortable when cold weather moves in.
Barometric Pressure Effects - That feeling of being able to "sense" when weather is changing isn't just folk wisdom. As weather fronts move in and out, they create changes in air pressure. These pressure fluctuations cause tissues around joints to expand and contract slightly. In the confined space of a joint, these tissue changes increase pressure on nerves and pain receptors, often leading to that familiar achy feeling.
Managing Cold-Weather Joint Pain: Movement As Medicine
Understanding why we get stiff is helpful, but what can we actually do about it?
Movement is one of the best remedies for joint stiffness – we're not talking about rolling out of bed after a cold night and going for a run. Instead, think targeted, gentle movements of the stiff joint. Take a shoulder, for instance: instead of gritting your teeth and waiting for it to "warm up" as you start your day, dedicate a focused two to five minutes to warming up the joint properly.
See the attached video for a practical demonstration of what this could look like.
Why Movement Really Works
When you move a stiff joint, you trigger several powerful healing responses in your body:
Joint Lubrication - Movement stimulates your synovial membrane to produce synovial fluid - your body's natural joint lubricant. This fluid does double duty: it reduces friction within the joint and delivers vital nutrients to your cartilage. Think of it as both oil for your hinges and a delivery service for joint health.
Enhanced Circulation - As you move, blood flow increases to both the muscles and tissues surrounding your joints. This improved circulation acts like a cleanup crew, bringing in fresh oxygen and nutrients while clearing away waste products that can contribute to stiffness and discomfort.
Muscle Support - Those gentle movements aren't just about the joint itself. They activate the surrounding muscles, which act like natural scaffolding to support and stabilize your joints. This muscle engagement helps distribute forces more evenly across the joint, reducing stress on the joint.
Range of Motion - Regular movement helps maintain and even improve your joint's range of motion. This is particularly important during cold weather when joints tend to feel more restricted. By moving within comfortable ranges, you help keep your joints mobile and flexible.
Finding Your Sweet Spot
If you're someone who wakes up with a stiff and achy back, neck, shoulder, knee, or any other uncomfortable joint, remember this golden rule: motion is lotion. The key is finding movements that feel tolerable to good. You'll likely notice that movements that start out just tolerable begin to feel better after a few repetitions – I explain more about this phenomenon in the video and introduce you to a different way of thinking about movement. Stoplight Movements.
Don't let winter weather keep you stiff and uncomfortable. Start with gentle, mindful movement, and watch how your body responds. Stay tuned for our next blog where we'll dive deeper into finding the specific movements that work best for different joints and conditions.
References:
Experimental arthritis: a chilling link to joint pain and hypersensitivity PMID: 26823209
Nature's wrath - the effect of whether on pain, following orthopedic trauma PMID: 27318614