Is The Weather Making Your Joints Hurt in Winnebago IL?

Rain Again? Pain Again? You have developed again that nagging pain in your shoulder, your knee, your hip, everywhere. You have not fallen, tripped, done anything different for that matter, the pain came out of nowhere.

As chiropractors in Winnebago IL, it is not uncommon for there to be days where "everyone" is having a rough day. Why does happen?

What's the issue? Why is there a pattern in Winnebago IL?

There is usually one overriding factor that ALL of these patients are exposed to - the weather.

There has been research into this pattern of weather and pain. It is not necessarily settled science, but there is generally agreed upon factors that likely contribute to a person's experience of pain with changing weather patterns. The general and most likely factors are barometric pressure and inflammation. The weight of the surrounding air exerting pressure against our bodies causes changes in inflammation.

I know this sounds odd on first examination. Believe it or not, there is a weight of the atmosphere that surrounds our Earth on our bodies. At sea level this pressure is 14.7 pound per square inch (psi). This is a weight that is exerted on our bodies in all directions. Up, down, right and left, it places a load on our bodies. This weight, or pressure, is delivered through our bodies to our joints as well.

When rain or a storm blow in the barometric pressure changes. This increases the inflammation in your body. When a joint becomes inflamed joint capsule (which is like a balloon) will become inflamed there will be the presence of several of the cardinal signs of inflammation, most notably pain.

Remember that I referred above to the joint capsule as being like a balloon. Let's have a little thought experiment here for a moment. Imagine a balloon in a large glass jar. I have a pump attached to this closed glass jar with an inflated balloon inside. What will happen if I start pumping more air into the jar? Yes, the balloon will start to get smaller as the pressure of the air in the jar increases and the balloon will get smaller so the pressure inside the balloon will try to match the pressure outside the balloon. Let's pump some of the air out of the balloon now. What will happen? Yes, the exact opposite. The balloon will become bigger. The pressure of the air in the jar goes down so the balloon will become bigger as the air inside attempts to match the pressure of the air on the outside of the balloon.

So now let's look at the joint capsule. Again, think of it as a balloon. What happens if the atmospheric pressure goes down (i.e., low pressure front) starts to enter an area? The air in the atmosphere (jar) is being "pumped out" and the balloon (joint capsule) will try to enlarge so as to match the pressure on the outside of the capsule. Now this is happening on a very small scale, but it still happens. The capsule will start to enlarge and the joint capsule will be stretched. There are pain receptors in the joint capsule; because the capsule is inflamed the pain receptors will start to fire. Pain will be produced and the message sent to your brain.

What to do about it?

The thing to do is to reduce your overall inflammation.

Moving to Florida or Arizona isn't always practical. Also, there is barometric pressure in these places as well so you will not be immune to the pain. Here's a short list of things to attempt:

• Get Adjusted: Chiropractic has been shown to reduce both chronic and acute inflammation.
• Change your diet: It is widely known that certain food increase inflammation and other foods decrease inflammation. If you need help please make an appointment for a FREE 25 minute consultation with Carrie our Nutrition Educator.
• Supplements: We have some great supplements that reduce inflammation. Please ask when you are in to get adjusted.
• Keep Moving: Movement helps keep the inflammation down in your joints.

For more information call our team at Freedlund Family Chiropractic & Nutrition in Winnebago today!