Cold weather causing your joints to throb and ache? Read on and discover how CBD may help you relieve joint pain this winter.
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Does this sound familiar? Aching and throbbing joints. Stiffness in your hands, knees, and ankles. Difficulty moving around. Needing longer recovery time from your usual workouts. If you experience any of these symptoms during the cold winter months, you’re not alone.
Experiencing more joint pain during winter is common for people with arthritis, fibromyalgia, old injuries, or other inflammatory disorders. One study of roughly 3,000 osteoarthritis patients said nearly two-thirds of those people felt their joint pain was negatively affected by weather conditions.
For anyone who experiences this, there are two important questions we have to ask. First, why does cold weather cause joint pain? Second, what can you do about it? Keep reading and discover why the cold might be affecting your joints AND how CBD may help relieve your joint pain this winter.
Why Does Cold Weather Cause Joint Pain?
Depending on your overall health and lifestyle, the answer to that question could be one of several things.
Barometric Pressure Changes
As the season moves from fall to winter, the barometric changes in the atmosphere can expand the tissue and fluid in our bodies. That includes joint fluid.
Increased Sensitivity to Cold and Heat
Nerves that have been damaged by an injury may be hypersensitive to stimuli like cold and heat. Injuries with permanent scarring, inflammation, or adhesions may experience this.
Joint Fluid Will Become Thicker
The fluid in your joints is known as synovial fluid and it helps absorb shocks. When cold weather sets in, however, this fluid becomes thicker and can’t move around as easily. This can lead to stiff, “creaky” joints.
Inactivity During Cold Winter Months
If the colder weather causes you to be less active, you’ll likely experience more joint pain since long periods of sedentary activity is bad for joint health. For people with arthritis, the swelling of joint fluid will combine with any inflammation they’re already experiencing to create even more joint pain.
It’s also possible that people with no history of arthritis or inflammatory conditions experience joint pain in the winter because the body is trying to conserve heat. Your body will send more blood to the internal organs, which causes blood vessels near the surface of the body to constrict. That’s why some athletes experience more soreness during the winter months.
In all honesty, scientists are still trying to figure out the exact reason why cold weather seems to cause so much grief for some. Luckily, there are several tips you can follow to manage joint pain caused by cold weather.
Manage Cold Weather Joint Pain With Lifestyle Changes
If you’re worried the only way to manage cold weather joint pain is to move to the Bahamas, don’t worry. Cold weather may never be your friend, but with a few lifestyle changes, it can definitely be more manageable.
For mild joint pain, over-the-counter pain medication might do the trick. However, you’ll want to consult with your doctor first to determine which kind will be the healthiest option for you. Depending on your overall health and wellness, certain pain medications will be better than others.
If that doesn’t cut it, making an effort to stay warm can make a world of difference. An electric blanket and a sweater will help you stay cozy indoors, and heavily insulated clothing may make the outdoors more manageable. This might not seem like earth-shattering information, but small things like warming up your car before leaving for work can reduce joint pain a lot.
There are even specialty gloves, knee bands, and braces that can be used to reduce swelling and improve stability. This is particularly important if your joint pain makes you more prone to stumbling or falling. On top of that, it will make staying active much easier. Even if it’s just light stretching or a walk, keeping your joints limber and strong will keep joint fluid from becoming too viscous.
One of the most helpful things you can do is make sure that you’re keeping your immune system healthy and getting plenty of anti-inflammatories. The first item is important because your immune system controls inflammation. If you’re not getting enough sleep, or if you’re overly stressed, your immune system can take a hit. That might mean more inflammation, which is definitely not good.
That’s one of the reasons why getting plenty of anti-inflammatories is so important. Eating healthy and taking anti-inflammatory supplements is an easy way to reduce inflammation and overall pain.
Speaking of supplements…
CBD Can Reduce Swelling Caused by Inflammation
CBD (cannabidiol) is a non-psychoactive compound derived from the hemp plant. As a supplement, CBD helps reduce joint pain in several ways. First, it’s a powerful anti-inflammatory.
Like we said earlier, your immune system controls the inflammation in your body. While inflammation may be a cause of pain for many people, it’s actually a totally normal response…usually. When we’re sick or injured, our body promotes inflammation to protect us. However, an overactive inflammatory response can be very painful.
Your endocannabinoid system (ECS) works to balance out various systems throughout your body–including your immune system. CBD works with your ECS to bring balance back to your immune system, and through that, it helps balance your inflammatory responses too.
For cold weather joint pain, we recommend using CBD oil on a regular basis. It’s important to know, however, that CBD isn’t an immediate fix and needs time to balance things out. Once you find out which strength is right for you, make CBD Oil a regular part of your routine to reduce overall inflammation.
CBD Can Soothe Joint Pain
The second way CBD may reduce joint pain is by reducing the messages in your brain that communicate pain signals.
A review published by Frontiers Pharmacology even said, “ The mechanisms of the analgesic effect of cannabinoids include inhibition of the release of neurotransmitters and neuropeptides from presynaptic nerve endings, modulation of postsynaptic neuron excitability, activation of descending inhibitory pain pathways, and reduction of neural inflammation.” Basically, it makes it harder for you brain to communicate pain.
It’s important to remember, however, that the mechanisms of pain are complex and still being studied. While anecdotal evidence supports the use of CBD as a therapy for chronic pain, researchers are still trying to figure out exactly why CBD has such powerful pain-relieving properties. For those who are suffering, however, WHY it works isn’t all that important.
For severe cold weather joint pain, we recommend combining your regular CBD Oil regimen with a CBD topical as needed. Some days are colder than others, and some days you’ll need to be out and about more than others. When that happens, being able to apply a CBD Gel precisely where you need it can be the difference between a productive day and a painful day.
Manage Cold Weather Joint Pain TODAY With CBD
With the holidays right around the corner, you don’t want to spend your time worrying about whether joint pain will hold you back. Like we said earlier, CBD takes time to take effect. So, the earlier you start your CBD regimen, the sooner you’ll begin to feel relief.
Contact us if you have any questions and feel free to check out the products in our shop. You deserve to live pain-free. So, try CBD today so you can feel better and live more.