Cold weather can cause muscles, ligaments and tendons to tighten up and feel stiffer. It’s because all of those tissues have nerve endings in them and they're going to feel the recent cold changes in the weather. Another common theory is that when it is cold out, changes in barometric pressure can cause an inflammatory response in the joints. Some research suggests changes in barometric pressure worsen knee pain in people with arthritis, while colder temps can cause painful changes in joint fluid thickness. If you're going to be doing stuff outside in the cold weather, you’ll want to make sure you wear proper clothing. If you don’t, you will get too cold and tighten or stiffen up…so much so that you may feel real pain. If you exercise in cold weather, you need to take precautions, too. Be sure to warm up wisely. Before any cold weather workout, walk around or jog in place indoors for five minutes. When you head out, give your body time to adjust to the conditions by taking 30-second breaks every few minutes for the first 10 minutes. After that, you should be ready to continue on as normal. If you feel joint pain all of the time, you may have a bigger issue. If this is you, we recommend you call Ortho El Paso for an orthopedic consultation. Call 915-249-4000 to schedule or visit us at www.orthoep.com.
