05 Dec Cold Weather and Chronic Pain

If you’ve ever known bad weather was coming based on your pain, you’re not alone. During cold weather, joint and other chronic pain can worsen. Whether you have arthritis or inflammation problems, cold weather can worsen your symptoms. There could be many reasons for increased pain during winter months, and it’s important to find ways to reduce your chronic pain during cold weather and stay active. Keep reading to learn more about how to manage pain symptoms in cold weather.

How to reduce pain in cold weather

During cold weather, blood flow may lessen, which can cause pain in your extremities. It’s also common not to be as physically active during colder months, which might derail your pain management routine. Understanding what triggers your pain symptoms is an important first step in managing your condition. Once you understand your triggers, including cold weather, a pain management doctor can help you build a plan to manage symptoms. Here are a few tips to try to reduce chronic pain during cold weather:

Stay physically active

During cold weather, it’s easy to be less active. From cold days to cozy fires, staying inside and becoming less active can be tempting. However, it’s important to keep active, even if that means just getting up and moving during commercial breaks. It can be helpful to get support from friends and family to maintain physical activity levels in cold weather.

Dress warmly

Make sure you are dressing warmly for cold weather. Especially if you’re going outside in winter weather, keeping warm is essential to protecting your skin and joints from the elements.

Be sure to stretch

If you are able, getting in some stretches or light yoga will help keep you limber and active. Even a short stretch in the morning or before bed can help you reduce chronic pain symptoms in winter months.

Stay motivated

It can be difficult to maintain your motivation for activity and energy during the winter months, but it’s important to keep up your motivation in winter. If you feel your motivation is lowering, or you feel your mental or emotional health is suffering, it’s important to speak with a behavioral health specialist.

To sum it up: pain and cold weather 

Reducing your chronic pain is important year-round, but it can particularly difficult to do in the winter months. These tips can help you control your chronic pain in cold weather; however, if your chronic pain symptoms get worse, be sure to speak with your doctor about your increased pain. If you or a loved one are suffering from chronic pain, please call The Pain Management Group at 615.941.8538 for more information.

For more information on The Pain Management Group, please visit thepainmanagementgroup.com or schedule an appointment at one of our locations throughout Middle Tennessee.

We are committed to providing individualized care and vow to treat each patient with compassion and respect, never turning anyone away. Our physicians are fellowship-trained pain specialists who utilize a combination of interventional procedures and medication management services to tailor a personalized care plan for each patient’s long-term pain relief.