With the weather recently going from hot to cold every other day, your body may be experiencing things that you don’t normally notice. Different weather conditions can influence how our muscles and joints feel, especially for people who already experience joint pain, stiffness, or previous injuries. When temperatures drop, our muscles can feel tighter and our joints may become stiffer, making movement feel more difficult. Cold temperatures can also cause blood vessels to constrict, which may contribute to the feeling of stiffness and discomfort. When your body feels tight or restricted, it is especially important to ease into physical activity rather than immediately performing intense movements.
Heat can affect the body differently. Warmer temperatures can cause blood vessels to dilate and may contribute to increased swelling or discomfort in areas that are already irritated or inflamed. For some people with joint problems, this can make their symptoms more noticeable. This is one reason why warming up properly and paying attention to how your body feels before beginning physical activity is important. Gentle movement and stretching can help prepare your muscles and joints for the activity ahead, while other treatments such as heat or cold therapy may be used when appropriate as part of a physical therapy program.
And what about rain? It’s true that some people say they can feel more pain in their joints when it’s raining. Changes in barometric pressure may affect how some people perceive joint and soft-tissue discomfort, although the exact relationship between weather and pain can vary from person to person. When atmospheric pressure changes, tissues around a joint may respond to those changes, potentially contributing to feelings of stiffness, pressure, or discomfort in people who are already experiencing joint problems.
Weather can have an impact on how your body feels, but that doesn’t mean you have to stop moving when temperatures change. At Specialized Physical Therapy, we can help you ease into each session so you can move comfortably without overworking your body or aggravating existing symptoms. Depending on your individual needs, things like gentle warm-up movements, stretching, strengthening, heat, and cold therapy may be incorporated into your treatment plan. If changing weather is making your pain or stiffness harder to manage, contact Specialized Physical Therapy and let us help you keep moving and get back to doing what you love.
Source: https://health.clevelandclinic.org/barometric-pressure-joint-pain