Arthritis and Weather Related Joint Pain
Even though Florida is known as the sunshine state, once in a while we are gifted cold and cloudy weather. Especially this week, and this morning! Central Floridians have been waking up to brisk cold winds accompanied by cloudy and rainy weather. For some, it’s what we look forward to around Christmas time, but for others it could be a warning signal that their bad back will stiffen up, causing stiffness and pain!
So how does this rare cold weather coincide with joint pain?
It might sound silly that weather determines how our body feels that day, week, month, etc. but there’s actually multiple reasons that this could be happening. One theory is that the drop in air pressure in the atmosphere when it’s cold outside causes your muscles, tendons, and surrounding tissue to expand. This in turn applies pressure to the joints they’re surrounding because of the restricted space within the body; especially if you already have arthritis in these joints, those most heard of being in the back for example, it can cause more pain than you would normally think.
The CDC defines arthritis as the inflammation or swelling of one or more joints, but do you know the most common types of arthritis along with their specific symptoms and causes?
Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis, often referred to as degenerative joint disease, caused by the breakdown of cartilage between bones. The signs and symptoms are typically pain/aching, stiffness, limited flexibility, and swelling around the joints which is typically found in the hands, hips, and knees.
Rheumatoid Arthritis is an autoimmune and inflammatory disease caused by an immune response where the body attacks it’s own healthy cells by mistake. It commonly affects the joints in the hands, wrists, and knees by causing the lining of the joint to be inflamed and damage the respective joint tissue. Along with the similar symptoms of Osteoarthritis, Rheumatoid Arthritis also adds tenderness to the joint area, weight loss, fever, fatigue, and weakness (typically on both sides of the body like both hands, knees, etc.)
Arthritis is an informal way of referring to joint pain/disease, and even thought there’s so many factors that go into learning the different types of arthritis there is one common trait: pain. Chiropractic care is an instrumental tool in helping relieve the pain of Arthritis, and with consistent care it will become a thing of the past.
Whether it’s joint pain or headaches, we want to get you feeling better and enjoying the holidays with your loved ones. If you’re having abnormal joint pain that you haven’t experienced before or know someone that is, have them call Orlando City Health & Wellness for a FREE consultation with the doctor so we can educate them on how chiropractic care is the natural answer for them!
