Hardly anyone really likes cold, wet, and windy
weather – there’s only one word in the world that really describes this
condition: usselig – a word from the language spoken in and around my hometown
Cologne (the city with the cathedral, the Kölner Dom). But people with
inflammatory rheumatic disease and also people with osteoarthritis suffer even
more during this season. And actually it isn’t “Hello darkness, my old friend” – quite a
lot of people get the blues during the darker months, which also affects pain
and not only mood disorders. Besides the joint
pain (arthralgia), these people also suffer from pain in the muscles (myalgia).
It isn’t the lower temperature alone; as inflamed
and painful joints are very responsive to the application of local, dry cold
packs (ice and cold water in a plastic bag are suited best for the purpose). Decisive
for the increased pain is the humidity and some people think also the lower air
pressure.
E.M. Savage and colleagues addressed the
question: “Does rheumatoid arthritis disease activity correlate with weather
conditions?” As the authors are based in Belfast, they have enough humid
weather. They concluded: “In this study, rheumatoid arthritis disease
activity (as measured by DAS-28) was significantly lower in both more sunny and
less humid conditions.”
W.R. Patberg and J.J. Rasker looked at:
“Weather effects in rheumatoid arthritis: from controversy to consensus. A
review.” They came to the conclusion: “The classic opinion, "Cold and wet
is bad, warm and dry is good for RA patients," seems to be true only as
far as humidity is concerned.”
Muscles and joints receive less blood during winter
as other organs are favored. And the restrictions on movement per se add to lower
joint mobility; the synovial fluid loses its lubricity and then pain
intensifies – a vicious circle to be broken. Therefore patients should be
encouraged to put on warm clothes (not forgetting gloves, hats and scarves) and
walk a lot in fresh air. During daytime and especially, when the sun comes out
of hiding as this counteracts the blues. However, Vitamin D isn’t produced in
large enough amounts during the winter half year (in latitudes like Germany or
higher up).
Links:
E.M. Savage and colleagues: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25342437
W.R. Patberg and J.J. Rasker: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15229951
.
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