When the weather gets colder, we change our way of living to accommodate it – we change our clothing, the food we eat and socialising moves from outside into the warmth of the indoors. The cold weather not only affects our way of living but our bodies as well; even the smallest movement can make us grunt with the aches and pain we feel.
“Cold weather can be the reason why we feel our joints ache a little more than usual,” says Odette Vass, brand manager for OsteoEze®. “This is because our bodies restrict the amount of blood that flows to our hands and feet when it gets colder and redirects it to our vital organs. Unfortunately, this does make the pain in our joints more noticeable.”
Keeping your joints healthy and relatively pain-free during winter, makes the colder weather a little more bearable. It’s cold outside, warm inside, and the couch looks extremely inviting, but being active during winter is a definite must for keeping your joints mobile and flexible.
“During winter we tend to slow down our exercising, but this only contributes to the stiffness in our joints, and can also lead to weight gain, which will also put extra strain on our joints,” says Vass. “Just make sure that you remember to stretch before and after exercising, to avoid any further injuries to your joints.”
Exercise is important for your joint health, and joint mobility, but make sure that your joints are warm before impacting them with further exercise. Stretching is a necessity before and after exercising to prepare your joints before working out and to soothe them after.
To continue looking after your joints after exercising, or when they are feeling stiff and painful, don’t forget to try heat therapy; this can include holding a hot towel to the painful area or simply lying in a hot bath. For effective results also use a heat rub, such as the OsteoEze® Heat Rub with capsicum which is a hot relief for muscles and joints.* Use in conjunction with OsteoEze® Platinum which assists with joint comfort, improves mobility and flexibility, promotes joint function and helps you exercise for longer. OsteoEze ® Platinum when used early, stops joint pain and cartilage damage before it starts! *
