How Weather in Texas Impacts Your Joint Pain – and How to Manage It

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It's true that weather and climate affect arthritis and painful joints. Humidity, along with temperature, weather changes, and weather patterns, causes joint pain or arthritis flares. Some move to drier, temperate climates to avoid humidity and weather's effects on their joints. Will climate change help joint pain? What's the best climate for arthritis sufferers? Consider the research on weather and climate and arthritis before packing. The average summer high in Dallas, Texas, is 86-98°F. Chronic pain patients say weather worsens their joint pain.  

Heat, Humidity, and Chronic Conditions

Humidity and heat affect many chronic pain conditions in Texas in summer.

Arthritis

According to one study, nearly 5% of older osteoarthritis patients say hot weather affects their joint pain. Due to joint tissue, inflammatory arthritis causes pain when temperature and humidity rise. People with inflammatory arthritis feel pain when temperature and humidity change because joint tissue expands and contracts. Rheumatologic disorders, injuries, and wear-and-tear osteoarthritis can cause arthritis pain. It often causes nerve pain and also affects gastrointestinal disorders.

Arthritis/Rheumatologic Pain Treatments:

  • Infusion of Ketamine in Therapy

  • Brain Mapping

  • Neuropsychopharmacology

  • Beta Burst Stimulation

Headaches & Migraines 

Dehydration from fluctuating temperature, humidity, and barometric pressure can cause tension-type headaches and migraines in warmer months.

Fibromyalgia

The National Fibromyalgia Association links humid weather to symptoms. Patients with rheumatology have “temperature sensitivity.” Extreme heat and cold can worsen symptoms and pain in this condition.

Multiple Sclerosis

Pain dominates this chronic neurological disease! Anything that raises body temperature can worsen MS symptoms, especially back and eye pain. This can worsen Uhthoff's syndrome pain on hot days. Fortunately, symptoms usually disappear when a person cools down.

Which Climate is Best for Joint Pain? Should You Relocate?

The optimal climate may vary due to its differential impact on individuals. Research indicates that a warmer, arid climate, such as that found in Texas, Arizona, Nevada, and the Eastern Sierra region of California, may be optimal for the majority of arthritis patients. Relocating to a different environment may alleviate your arthritis, but outcomes are not assured. Prior to relocating to a location you believe may be more advantageous for your arthritis, consider visiting at several periods throughout the year to ascertain any differences. 

Contemplate the losses incurred by relocating. By choosing to reside in a temperate climate, you may mitigate the impact of weather on your arthritis. Obtain the weather forecast initially. Should you observe patterns or temperatures that induce discomfort, bring your analgesic instruments. Insulated garments can alleviate symptoms of Raynaud's syndrome, such as joint discomfort and hand pain, in frigid conditions. Pain specialist in Dallas advises: Get your influenza vaccination in autumn, augment your vitamin D intake during winter, and apply sunscreen and other sun protection measures, particularly if you have lupus or are on photosensitive drugs in summer.

With adequate preparation, you can enhance your comfort in any climatic condition. Examine your regional arthritis weather index to anticipate how the climate may influence your joints. 

How to Cope with Joint Pain In Summers?

While you can't control the weather, you can manage your pain in the summer. This includes:

  • Staying hydrated and eating well. According to the best joint pain doctor in Dallas, a balanced diet and plenty of water will make you feel good and help you handle the heat. Due to its high water content, joint cartilage needs to be hydrated. When fluid loss is not replaced, joint fluid concentration decreases, worsening pain.

  • Pain physicians in Dallas recommend staying indoors during the hottest hours. Though obvious, many underestimate the body's response to hot weather. Staying cool can reduce the pain of high temperatures. If you must be outdoors, wear light clothing, swim, or utilize a misting fan or cold pack.

  • Utilization of air cooling to alleviate discomfort. Do not be concerned about elevated electricity expenses. Prioritizing comfort, ease, and the absence of discomfort is paramount. 

  • Cool with mint and essential oil. Mint teas, lotions, and soaps naturally cool and relieve pain. Menthol, peppermint, and spearmint essential oils cool, relax, and relieve muscle and sport injury pain.

  • Light breathing clothes: Wear linen or light cotton to stay cool by allowing your body to breathe. Avoid sweat-proof fabrics.

  • Take a pool dip: Pain doctors in Plano advise swimming in the pool to relieve joint pain and cool off in summer. The low-impact, cardio-like water exercise of swimming is great for chronic joint pain and arthritis sufferers.

Summer pain may increase due to heat and humidity affecting joint expansion and contraction. Our joint pain relief treatment is customized for acute or chronic pain. It is modern, innovative, and structured to get you back to life. 

Does Barometric Pressure Affect Pain?

Barometric pressure measures atmospheric air weight. Outdoor air pressure changes with weather. Low pressure signals a storm. High pressure indicates clear skies. Medical theorists say a drop in pressure increases joint pressure, which arthritis patients feel. 

Conclusion 

Heat and humidity can cause joint pain by affecting joint expansion and contraction, and also affecting inflamed tissue. Hydrating and staying healthy are within your control, but the weather is out of our control. Pain management in fort worth and physical therapy can help strengthen your joints and prevent flare-ups if you have arthritis.

Dr. Rao K. Ali M.D.

Dr. Rao Ali, a board-certified pain management physician, leads the clinic, which specializes in nonsurgical treatment. The physician has experience in the emergency room as well as training in pain management and rehabilitation. As a personal physician, he works with each patient to develop a treatment plan that will minimize or eliminate their pain. Providing expert diagnosis and treatment of a wide range of conditions, Pain Management In Dallas, PA provides a comprehensive range of services. These services include neck pain, back pain, hip and knee pain, fibromyalgia, neuropathy, complex regional pain syndrome, headaches, migraines, and many others.