People tend to be deficient in vitamin D during winter. Talk with a doctor about taking a vitamin D supplement.Cardiovascular exercises, strength training, and stretching can help: People tend to move less in winter, but staying physically active is critical to managing RA. These release heat and compress the fingers to reduce swelling. Most heat is lost from the extremities, so it is important to wear a scarf, hat, boots, and gloves. Some research suggests that if colder weather worsens arthritis symptoms, wearing warmer clothes that are designed to retain heat may help. The following steps may help if cold weather seems to be linked to an RA flare: There are some strategies to ease RA symptoms, however. Seasonal or weather-related RA flares are difficult to avoid.
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However, because high quality and bias-free studies are difficult to design, experts may never come to a definitive conclusion. Other researchers have found a correlation. That is not to say that weather does not impact RA symptoms. The authors conclude that the research does not conclusively link weather and RA symptoms and that additional studies are necessary to objectively measure RA symptoms.
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This could influence how they self-report their symptoms and, by extension, the overall results.Ī 2012 review of several hundred studies found only 19 that were of high enough quality for inclusion. In addition, study participants may already believe that there is a link between certain weather patterns and RA flares. It could be that temperature extremes affect a person’s mood and ability to exercise, which, in turn, impact RA symptoms. It is difficult to design a study that takes into account the many potential factors that could impact a person’s RA symptoms, from the foods they eat to their stress or activity levels. Not all researchers agree that certain weather or seasons cause or are linked to RA pain or stiffness. They speculate that cold weather could cause stiffness in the muscles around the joints, which could make arthritis symptoms worse. They could not explain why there was no significant link between RA symptoms and weather in younger or older adults. They speculate that this could be because they conducted the study in Madrid, Spain, which has a generally dry and stable climate. The researchers found no associations with humidity or atmospheric pressure. They found that lower temperatures tended to be linked to RA flares in people between the ages of 50 and 65 years. In a small 2013 study, researchers looked at the effects of temperature on symptoms in mostly middle aged people visiting an emergency room for RA. The researchers also note that the findings could be biased by the participants’ prior beliefs, as people who join this type of study may already believe that there is an association between their symptoms and the weather. The findings may not apply universally to all people with RA. The participants included people with osteoarthritis and other medical conditions. These findings applied even when the researchers took the person’s moods and physical activity levels into account. Over the course of 6 months, most people reported a modest increase in pain or discomfort when the weather was humid or windy or when atmospheric pressure was low. In a 2019 study, researchers gave 2,658 people a smartphone app to regularly track their pain levels, the weather, their moods, and their physical activity levels. For now, there is no scientific consensus on how weather affects RA flares. Others say that flares tend to occur when it is humid or hot outside. Some people report that pain and arthritis symptoms worsen during periods of cold, rain, and low atmospheric pressure. Other autoimmune conditions, such as Sjögren’s, also seemed to flare during extreme weather in the summer and winter. In a smaller 2020 study, researchers found that extreme temperatures in the summer and winter significantly impacted RA symptoms. Seasonal changes seem to have less of an impact on the larger joints. Seasons and flaresĪ 2019 study of more than 12,000 people with RA concluded that symptom flares in the small joints of the hands and feet occurred most often in the spring, then in the winter. The sections below look at what the research has to say. Extreme weather dampens a person’s mood, which, in turn, worsens RA symptoms.
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People may be less active in colder weather, which worsens symptoms.Low temperatures may increase the thickness of joint fluids so that the joints become stiffer and harder to move.This causes pain in the tissues that arthritis affects. Changes in barometric pressure during a cold front cause the tendons, muscles, bones, and scar tissues to contract and expand.Some scientific evidence suggests that weather or seasonal changes may impact a person’s RA symptoms.Įxperts do not understand exactly why this connection may exist.