Can the Weather Lead to Arthritis?

November 14, 2017

Cold Arizona

arthritis

As of last week, we’re starting to get some cooler weather in the mornings and late evenings.

Who has experienced someone telling them that when the weather gets colder, their aches get worse?

I’ve already started to hear the conversations from patients that they’re experiencing a few aches and pains since the weather changed and in particular, their lower back their knee.

The type of aches that suddenly get a bit more annoying, nagging and painful on a daily basis… a bit like what’s been happening to one of our patients “Wendy”…

Wendy has suffered from an aching lower back for a few months now and last winter her back got so bad, that it stopped her from hiking Thunderbird mountain with her family.  Something she has done for years.

And because Wendy didn’t want her lower back pain to get in the way of her family tradition this year, she thought she’d book an appointment with her doctor or PCP.

The PCP advised her that her lower back had arthritis and there was nothing that can be done except take these pain pills…

She didn’t want to accept that.  She felt there was something else that can be done.  She wanted an MRI to confirm what was really going on.  She was able to push the doc to give her a script for an MRI and the results came back… spondylosis and degenerative disc disease and degenerative joint disease.  She was so “happy” that it didn’t say arthritis!  Until she realized all those terms mean very much the same thing… arthritis.  Anytime you hear “degenerative” it means arthritis.

Now, what’s she going to do?

If you’re like Wendy and struggling to put your finger on why your lower back pain gets worse this time of year, I can assure you, that you’re not alone.

In fact, this is something that many men and women aged 50+ come to see us with at the clinic.

Click here to learn about an at-home low back pain

So What’s One Of The Reasons Why Your Back Pain Gets Worse Around This Time Of Year?

Here’s the thing… the colder temperatures slow down our body’s functions making movement more difficult.  Arthritis already makes the joints stiffer and when you combine that with the cooler temps, it’s a perfect storm for an arthritis flare-up.  Could be in your back, your knee, your neck, or your shoulder.  

And if you’ve not been as active through the winter because of the pain as you were during the spring and summertime when it gets colder, then this could risk your back pain getting even worse!

So, with that in mind here’s a big tip to help you avoid making this mistake:

Seize Any And Every Opportunity You Have During The Winter To Get Active And Keep Your Body Mobile And Vital Muscle Strong.

  • Wrap up warm and go for a 20 minute walk
  • Walk with friends and grab a coffee to keep you warm.
  • Take the stairs instead of the lift or escalator.
  • Set a reminder to move and do a stretch every hour, even from your office chair.

Then if you’re lucky, you’ll be able to avoid wasting time at the doctor’s office and being given pills that just don’t work.

Don’t let back pain creep up on you this Winter.

P.S. If back pain is troubling you right now, or if you’ve noticed any aches and pains starting to creep up on you, click the button below to download our FREE tips report with quick and simple tips to help ease low-back pain:

 

Nick Hunter, PT, DPT
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