How Cold Weather Affect Your Joints & Mood

It’s common to feel lazy & stiff whenever the winter arrives, it becomes harder to leave your cozy blanket behind and move on, do things you could easily do before but it doesn’t do you any good being in bed the whole day in fact people having chronic health problems like hypertension, asthma, arthritis, etc. experience worsening of symptoms during the winter season. We take these changes & worsening of symptoms as a normal thing that happens each year and tends not to do anything about them, but a few weeks spent doing nothing can undo the years of hard work that you have done on your health and fitness.

This whole seasonal change and its associated effects raise few questions which we will try to answer by looking in-depth at the causes that winters bring to your body physiologically and psychologically, also we will have a look at the ways to prevent or slow down these changes.

Why do joints feel stiffer in winters?

The reason of increased stiffness is,

• The pain & pressure receptors or baroreceptors inside your joints become more sensitive during the winters, especially in those who already have some degeneration or wear and tear in their joints due to arthritis. The Arthritis Foundation published a study from Tufts University in 2007 which stated that every 10-degree drop in temperature corresponded with an incremental increase in arthritis pain. In addition, low temperatures, low barometric pressure, and precipitation can increase pain, since lower atmospheric pressure makes your tissues expand & swell which leads to more pain.
• Reduced blood circulations to peripheral body parts due to cold causes your muscles to spasm more & amplifies the arthritic pain in fingers & toes.
• Less sunlight during winters due to hazy and foggy day means slows down the synthesis of vitamin D and in turn the calcium absorption in the body, and leads to weakened bones and joints.

How cold can increase the risk of an asthma attack, a heart attack, or a stroke,

• The cold temperature causes our blood vessels to constrict which increases the resistance to blood flow hence your heart needs to pump harder which results in increased blood pressure, this increase in blood pressure in those who already have hypertension can put them at risk of a cardio-vascular accident, the cold temperature has a similar effect on your respiratory system and can cause bronchospasm and can lead to an asthma attack.

Why do I feel so lazy in winter?

Sunlight plays an important role in the regulation of our brain chemistry and staying indoors or reduced sunlight due to bad weather may lead to an episode of depression which is called seasonal affective depression in those people who already have depression-related problems.

Few factors of how sunlight affects your brain function are,

• Your biological clock (circadian rhythm). The reduced level of sunlight in fall and winter may cause winter-onset SAD. This decrease in sunlight may disrupt your body’s internal clock and lead to feelings of depression.
• Serotonin levels. A drop in serotonin, a brain chemical (neurotransmitter) that affects mood, might play a role in SAD. Reduced sunlight can cause a drop in serotonin that may trigger depression.
• Melatonin levels. The change in season can disrupt the balance of the body’s level of melatonin, which plays a role in sleep patterns and mood.

How can I prevent all these things from happening to me?

Firstly, try to keep the exposure to the cold winter breeze to the minimum by wearing multiple layers of clothing and cover as much of your body as you can. Secondly, take good care of your nutrition eat plenty of nuts because they are rich in essential fatty acids and a good source of vitamins, prevent binge eating or having too much sweets. Last but not the least, exercise, try to move around indoors or outdoors with proper clothing of course as much as you can, indulging in outdoor sports might not be a good idea if you do not have a good baseline fitness but doing mobility exercises and some strengthening can help you prevent a lot of pain, stiffness, mood disorders, and heart risks. Remember to always do a 5-10 min. of warm-up before doing a strenuous activity to prepare your body and if you do not feel confident enough about what exercise you should do to keep the increased pain & stiffness under control then contact an expert such as a physical therapist, doing the right amount of activity and eating the right type of food can really make the winter season more enjoyable for you.

Written by: Shantanu Singh, Sports Physiotherapist, AktivHealth

DISCLAIMER: This is for knowledge basis only; not medical advice; if you have pain or functional limitations, see your local Physical Therapist.