Many people with arthritis feel worsening symptoms before and during rainy days. A drop in pressure often precedes cold, rainy weather. This drop in pressure may cause already inflamed tissue to expand, leading to increased pain.
During times of rain and snow, the temperature drops and barometric pressure decreases. This can cause fluid in the joints to thicken, which makes them stiffer. If you have stiff joints, you may be more sensitive to pain during movement, making arthritis pain seem worse.
More recently, however, a Dutch study of 222 people with osteoarthritis of the hip found that over 2 years, people said their pain and stiffness got worse with rising barometric pressure and humidity.
The study, funded by Versus Arthritis, found that damp and windy days with low atmospheric pressure increased the chances of experiencing more pain than normal by around 20 per cent. Barometric pressure may affect your joints more than humidity, rainfall and temperature.
Just as the effects of weather vary, the best climate may not be the same for all people. But based on research, it appears that for most people with arthritis, a warmer, drier climate may be optimal, such as that in parts of Texas, Arizona, Nevada and the Eastern Sierra region of California.
Both heat and cold therapy may help ease symptoms of arthritis. Heat may help relieve aches and stiffness, while cold therapy may help ease swelling and pain. Applying heat or cold to affected parts of the body may help relieve the uncomfortable symptoms of arthritis.
There is no cure for arthritis. The treatment goal is to limit pain and inflammation and preserve joint function. Treatment options include medicines, weight reduction, exercise, and surgery.
To reduce weather related joint pain, try to dress appropriately with warm clothing, take warm showers to soothe aching joints, take an occasional pain pill as recommended by your doctor, and stay active by exercising regularly, but remember to warm up properly before engaging in vigorous activity.
The most common triggers of an OA flare are overdoing an activity or trauma to the joint. Other triggers can include bone spurs, stress, repetitive motions, cold weather, a change in barometric pressure, an infection or weight gain.
Once you understand it, take the proper action to protect yourself. For many people, arthritis symptoms seem to get worse in the summer months, and there's a good reason for that.
Osteoarthritis, the most common form of arthritis, involves the wearing away of the cartilage that caps the bones in your joints. Rheumatoid arthritis is a disease in which the immune system attacks the joints, beginning with the lining of joints.
Studies have shown fatigue to be common among people with osteoarthritis and a factor in their quality of life. 1 Fatigue is typically associated with rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and other inflammatory rheumatic conditions, but it can be seen in osteoarthritis as well.
RA sometimes affects the small nerves in your hands or feet. They might feel numb or like you're being stuck with pins and needles. If these tiny blood vessels in your hands or feet shut down, your fingers or toes may feel cold or numb. They could even change color when it's cold outside and look white, red, or blue.
"RA, like many autoimmune diseases, is quite heritable and unfortunately tends to cluster in families," says Hu. "Many genetic studies have gone into identifying genes that predispose individuals to the risk of RA."
Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs
NSAIDs are the most effective oral medicines for OA. They include ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil) naproxen (Aleve) and diclofenac (Voltaren, others). All work by blocking enzymes that cause pain and swelling.
If you have arthritis, participating in joint-friendly physical activity can improve your arthritis pain, function, mood, and quality of life. Joint-friendly physical activities are low-impact, which means they put less stress on the body, reducing the risk of injury.
Statistically, it does seem that more people experience arthritis-related pain when the winter arrives. A 2013 study from Spain found 50- to 65-year-old patients with rheumatoid arthritis were 16% more likely to report a flare-up when temperatures dropped below average.
Voltaren contains an effective nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medicine which is clinically proven to relieve arthritis joint pain. With 4-times-a-day use, you may start to feel relief within a few days. You should feel significant pain relief within 7 days of continuous use.
Any type of full-body massage therapy that involves moderate pressure, including self-massage, should help relieve arthritis pain and ease tension, she says. Before getting any type of massage, consult your doctor to make sure massage is safe for your arthritis and any other health conditions you may have.
Several studies have shown that saturated fats trigger adipose (fat tissue) inflammation, which is not only an indicator for heart disease but it also worsens arthritis inflammation. Pizza and cheese are the biggest sources of saturated fats in the average American diet, according to the National Cancer Institute.