Cold Weather Creaks: Seasonal Joint Pain

Well, today it happened. The bottom dropped out of the warm weather. It was bound to come out of nowhere like this, and so it did. The cold weather brings with it a bunch of irritations, but of course, what concerns me the most are those creaking pains in joints. Knees, backs, necks - they all start to stiffen up in the face of a cold wind or a morning chill. And the streets of NYC in the fall and winter can be just brutal.

One of the conditions that we at Living Well Medical in New York City tend to look out for come this time of year is arthritis. Although there has been no concrete scientific link between arthritis and the cold weather, it seems to be the case that the change in weather has a dramatic effect on people with joint problems. Of course, depending on the type and severity of your arthritis, the pain you feel may vary from a slight discomfort to a debilitating shock of pain. And for all of these people, even those with pain not linked to arthritis, there are ways to cope with and reduce the pain, even completely relieving it in some cases.

My NYC office has the tools to make that happen. For one, joint mobilization techniques are extremely valuable for reducing the cold weather creaks. Keeping active is a big part of pain prevention. That’s why we have a physical therapist on staff who can help with stretching and weight bearing exercise to improve strength in the tissue surrounding painful joints. More support can mean less pain for you in times like these. In the event that the pain is overwhelming, we do have a pain management specialist on staff to help you.

If you are struggling with seasonal joint pain, give us a call at (212) 645-8151 and come down and see us at our SoHo/NoHo NYC office. After all, the cold is just getting started. You don't want to just creak your way through the season, right?

- Dr. Shoshany, NYC Chiropractor