How Does Colder Weather Affect My Knee Injury?
Whether you have an old knee injury from high school sports or a scar from knee replacement or repair surgery, you might notice a sensitivity to the weather. In the cold, anyone with an injury may notice:
- Stiff joints
- Creaking from their injury site
- Pain
- Swelling
- Decreased mobility
This is a normal part of a knee injury, so it’s important to know how to handle it.
Why Cold Affects Knee Injuries
When it’s cold outside, there are a few things that happen. The barometic pressure drops, which causes tissues and joints to swell. This is especially true in climates where snow and severe winter weather occur. On top of that, cold weather seeps through clothes and affects our blood vessels, nerves, and skin for a heightened state of awareness. Humidity in the winter can also affect cartilage and bone, making the area around an old injury flare up just as much as the injury site itself. Our synovial fluid (the jelly-like substances in our joints) also gets cold in the winter, making it thicker and less mobile during the winter. This means our joints feel stiffer, may creak more, and have generally less motion.
Last but not least, the cold season is often associated with less movement overall. We are inside a lot more during the winter and, if you live in a snowy climate, it can be hard to stay active. When you don’t move an injured site, the scar tissue can harden and cartilage and joints will often flare up as well. All of this means more pain, less mobility, and a harder winter for anyone who has a knee injury.
How to Reduce Knee Injury Pain in the Winter
The good news is you don’t have to suffer with pain from your knee injury all winter. Depending on the timing of your knee injury (whether old or new), you have a few options:
- R-I-C-E. If your injury is fairly new, it’s important to Rest, Ice, Compress, and Elevate your knee. This will make sure the swelling goes down and that no long-term damage is done as a result of the swelling.
- Heating pads. If your knee injury is a little older, you may get relief from a heating pad or hot compress. This will relieve the cold in your joint and help with blood flow, which can decrease pain.
- Use compression sleeves. There are plenty of knee compression sleeves out there. These are great for joint pain during the winter, as they keep the blood in the area — plus they serve as an additional layer for warmth.
- Move! The most important thing you can do for your knee injury is to keep moving. Even if you walk inside at your local recreation center or get on a stationary bike at the gym, do something every day that moves your knee.
If you’re concerned about the pain or lack of motion you’re experiencing from your knee injury this winter, you should contact your orthopedic specialist. He or she may be able to recommend exercises or regimens to control your pain, and they will also be able to determine if it’s a larger problem than just the cold weather.
Orthopedic Corner | Leon Mead MD Orthopedic Doctor | 730 Goodlette Road North, Suite 201 Naples Florida 34102 | Phone: (239) 262-1119