Can your body tell you when bad weather is on its way? I know mine can! And we ARE NOT crazy!
The skies can still be blue but the achiness starts as soon as the barometric pressure in the environments starts to drop. Why does that happen? Does anyone believe you when you tell them “Bad weather is on its way.” They should listen to you!
I found a great article that helps explain it a bit over at Web MD: http://www.webmd.com/pain-management/features/weather_and_pain – According to the article:
“Barometric pressure often drops before bad weather sets in. This lower air pressure pushes less against the body, allowing tissues to expand — and those expanded tissues can put pressure on the joint.”
I am a firm believer that our bodies tell us everything we need to know – but we have to be willing to listen. Two days ago my hips and knees started hurting and lo and behold today it was sleeting when I was driving the kids to school.
So, what can you do when you are aching worse to help relieve some of your pain?
For me, staying warm helps. My amazing friend bought me a little heating pad called a Cozy Spot:
Image from sunbeam.com
My cozy spot helps ALOT, as does my favorite fuzzy sweatshirt and even my heating blanket at times. Over the years in chronic pain, I have developed quite a set of “warmness” wear.
Another way to keep your pain under control is to keep moving. I have some easy exercises to help with this on the blog filed under Move-It Monday. The exercises I share there are my lifelines when I am hurting.
Advil – advil definitely helps. When I still had RA, I took tramadol because the advil was not strong enough. When barometric-pressure-related pain sets in, make sure you have your prescription filled so you don’t run out.
Lastly, for me when pain is worse near a storm, compression helps. Ace bandages can be a life saver. They serve a double purpose when bad weather pain kicks up. They keep the area that hurts warm AND help to reduce swelling as well – which is going to make your pain worse.
So the next time you are aching and you just KNOW a storm is coming… you are probably right! Grab your “warmness wear”, make sure your pain meds have not run out, pick up a couple of ace bandages, and have some go-to stretches to do to help ease your pain. When you are ready when pain sets in, you can help minimize its impact on your life — so your pain does not run things and you can stay in control.
Be well today and always!
Alicia
Image credit: philadelphia-acupuncture.com