We can all feel the chill in the air, but if your elderly loved one has arthritis, it might be more than simply being a little chilled, she might find the colder air makes living with her arthritis even more difficult than normal.
Why Arthritis is Worse in the Winter
Arthritis isn’t caused by cold weather, but it can make it worse, even if your loved one manages it fairly well during the warmer months of the year. Frigid cold days can make arthritis more difficult to live with in three different ways. Colder temperatures increase pain sensitivity, cause muscle spasms, and slow the circulation of blood in the body. For some people, their joints also sense changes in barometric pressure (the amount of air pressure in the air around them), and feel more stressed as the tendons and muscles expand. Finally, cold weather causes the fluid that lubricates the joints to thicken and move slower, making movements more difficult.
Five Tips for Reducing Arthritic Pain in the Winter
There are steps your loved one can take to reduce the pain that winter seems determined to bring. Here are five to begin with.
1. Keep warm. The number one tip in winter is to try to keep the body from getting too cold. There are several steps your loved one should take to keep warm.
- When going outside, make sure affected areas are sufficiently bundled up. Wool mittens will protect your loved one’s hands more than thin cotton gloves.
- Turn up the heat inside. Keep the home nice and warm to prevent stiffness from setting in.
- Fix drafty windows. Cold air blowing in through drafty windows can make sitting in a chair and trying to watch a favorite show painful. Look at using window coverings if it’s especially bad.
- Pile on the blankets. At night, add extra blankets so all of the body feels warm. When relaxing, have a favorite blanket by your favorite chair to snuggle up with.
- Take a warm bath. Soaking in a nice warm tub can help those joints to loosen up and relax.
2. Stretch daily. Keeping arthritic areas warmed up with stretches helps to reduce the pain caused by colder temperatures. She should start with simple movements like rolling the wrists, doing knee bends, or stretching out her fingers.
3. Exercise daily. Now that she’s stretched out, your loved one should aim for exercising at least 150 minutes a week. Staying active will help reduce the pain from arthritis when she isn’t active. Regular physical activity increases energy, strength, and flexibility, all important aspects for managing arthritis pain.
4. Take Vitamin D supplements. Most of our Vitamin D intake is from the sun which gets greatly reduced in winter. Vitamin D is paramount to healthy joints and bones thus preventing herself from getting deficient will support her bone and joint health.
5. Don’t overdo it. There may be tasks that are just too hard to do in the winter. Having a provider who can help with arthritis care by assisting with those tasks will prevent your loved one from injuring herself. An arthritis care provider can assist with chores around the home and provide mobility support.
An important part of arthritis care for your loved one is knowing her limits and asking for help when needed.
