Causes Of Leg Pain In Winter

By Sneha A

Friday, December 11, 2015, 11:27 [IST]

For many people increased leg pain during winters is a very common occurrence. As the temperature begins to drop, the ache in their legs starts to elevate, which at times is even accompanied by some swelling. . Generally, older people can be seen getting a sharp shooting pain in their legs and knee joints when the temperature drops suddenly. To some people it may just be an 'old wives tale’, but it actually does have some logical and scientific validity.

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Winter is a season that offers so many great outdoor fun activities; however, unfortunately, for some it flares up a pain in their joints and legs. Many of you might have wondered about this co-relation between the change in weather and these aches and why your leg pains more during winter? There may be many reasons for the development of this problem. We have listed few of the reasons why your legs and joints pain during winters.

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1. Arthritis

Osteoarthritis and other joint pains tend to flareup during the winters or the rainy season, as there is a sudden drop in the barometric pressure before the rain or when there is a severe change in the surrounding temperature. The decrease in air pressure causes the tissues to swell more, and thus this may be the reason why you may experience more pain.

2. Sciatica

Sciatica is one of the major causes of pain in winter. Sciatica nerves are the longest in the body and if any of these 5 nerves get compressed due to any reason it causes a severe pain and an uncomfortable condition. Cold weather, in particular, worsens the pain, as the muscles tend to stiffen up more and become tense.

3. Muscle Spasms

Winter gets your body to lose heat, and as a result of this the muscles tend to contract. This in turn causes extreme stiffness all over the body, forcing the muscles to exert more pressure even in the everyday works that were accomplished easily earlier. This can cause soreness in the muscles and increase the amount of pain in the legs. To reduce the chances of getting muscle spasms, make sure to incorporate more of warmup activities.

4. Fibromyalgia

Many a times, you may be suffering from this condition and may not be able to understand the real problem behind why your legs pain more during winters, as you tend to associate it with some kind of joint or muscle problem. This pain eventually spreads to the other parts of the body and its diagnosis may get delayed due to ignorance. It can also cause some sleep difficulties, and hence it calls for the attention of a specialist.

5. Intense Physical Exertion

Winters and snow can lead you to exert more amount of physical pressure on your body than it is used to. Even just the shoveling of the snow, which does not usually take a lot of effort, can cause you to develop pain in the legs during winters.

6. Dehydration

People tend to drink lesser amounts of water during the winters, hence this can lead to a loss of the required amounts of fluids in their body. The muscles which are already stiff, due to the colder temperature, tend to become tighter and more painful during the winters. To prevent this condition, always keep your fluid intake in check, as it is required by your body.

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