How to Deal with Back Pain in Cold Weather

Back pain strikes anyone and everyone at some point in their life, whether it’s due to injury, their lifestyle, posture, medical condition, or old age pain. chemical. However, one thing that can aggravate or cause back pain is cold weather. People who frequently experience pain in their low back often report that the condition is worse in the winter months. Even men and women who don’t experience this type of pain year-round will see their primary caregivers for it when it starts to get colder outside. But what about the cold that causes chronic back pain? Is there scientific evidence to support a correlation between these two? Read on to learn how to deal with back pain in cold weather.

Can Cold Weather Make Your Body Achy?

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While there’s no convincing scientific evidence to back this up, there’s plenty of research to suggest that cold temperatures cause tendons and ligaments throughout the body (especially along the spine) to slow down. ) is constricted. This leads to limited range of motion and inflammation that causes severe low back pain. Frequent winter weather leads to an increase in reports of neck pain, joint pain, back pain and general body pain in both sick and healthy individuals, with back pain being the second most common reason. that people visit the doctor during the winter months after colds and flu.

Why is back pain worse in winter?

Aside from how cold temperatures affect your tendons and ligaments, are there other correlations that exist between weather and back pain? Nothing has been proven. If the problem is muscle pain then most likely the cold is the culprit. However, if your back pain is caused by bone pain or nerve pain, cold weather won’t affect your condition. Similarly, although barometric pressure is a common part of conversation when discussing back pain and joint pain, there is no convincing evidence that changes in barometric pressure are directly correlated. continue with this pain. in winter for other reasons. Some additional possibilities are:

Seasonal weakness makes it harder to exercise or perform regular activities in colder weather to keep your body healthy, thus making it more susceptible to aches and pains.
Common illnesses in colder weather, such as colds, bronchitis, or pneumonia, either directly cause pain in your body or lead to prolonged inactivity.
Injuries occur during strenuous winter activities such as shoveling, shoveling, and salting.

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Can Illness Cause Back Pain?

Sure. Some common winter ailments can directly lead to back pain, although cold weather itself is not the cause. For example:

Flu – One of the symptoms of the flu is joint and muscle pain, accompanied by lethargy and exhaustion.
Bronchitis and Pneumonia – Shortness of breath is often caused by or leads to inflammation and coughing, both of which irritate back muscles and lead to upper and lower back pain.

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What helps relieve back pain caused by cold weather?

Doctors recommend a variety of ways to avoid back pain in cold weather, including but not limited to:

Keep yourself warm and nice clothes if you have to be outside in the cold. The warmer you keep your body, the less likely you are to experience muscle and ligament spasms.
Stretch and exercise regularly. This is something any decent doctor would recommend regardless of back pain as it’s just a general part of staying healthy, but staying fit and working your muscles will also help your back muscles. loose and healthy.
Avoid overexertion when doing outdoor activities like shoveling snow and ice on driveways and sidewalks, scraping ice from surfaces, carrying heavy bags of salt strewn across the ground, and even fun activities as fun as building a snowman and riding a sled. Any of these activities can cause injury when you don’t regulate your pace and listen to your body.

The best thing you can do to avoid or manage back pain during the winter months is to stay warm, healthy, and your body. Be kind to your body, don’t ignore its signs if you must be outside for long periods of time or work in the cold, and do what you can to limit your risk of inflammation. We strongly recommend visiting an emergency room. At the Village Emergency Center, we provide quality and compassionate emergency care without waiting. Stop by one of our 24-hour locations in Katy, River Oaks, Clear Creek and Jersey Village.