Why do my joints hurt when it gets cold? Is it because I don’t wear long underwear? I’ve been deceived for many years…

Experts in this article: Ao Rongguang, MD, deputy chief physician of the Department of Orthopedics, Shanghai Pudong Hospital, and head of the key subspecialty of osteoporotic fractures in Pudong New Area Chang Yandao

The legs age first

Many elderly people

Leg pain occurs

In severe cases, it may even affect walking.

This is the "old cold legs" at work

Is cold legs caused by not wearing thermal underwear?

Why do some people experience knee pain when it gets cold?

About Old Cold Legs

Here’s what you need to know

What are cold legs?

Old cold legs is actually osteoarthritis of the knee, a common chronic joint disease, and is not caused by rheumatism.

It is characterized by degeneration of the knee cartilage, including wear and tear of the articular cartilage and degeneration of the articular cartilage, as well as joint pain and joint dysfunction caused by bone hyperplasia.

From the literal meaning, the three words "old cold legs" are more accurate:

It is more common in older patients, and the disease course is long and prone to recurrence;

Cold means being afraid of cold. When it is cold or winter, the pain will be aggravated and you will need to wear thicker clothes.

The leg is the site of pain, located at the knee joint.

Image provided by the author (manifestations of knee osteoarthritis: asymmetric or narrowed joint space, marginal bone hyperplasia and osteophyte formation, and varus knee deformity)

What causes cold legs?

The aging and wear of articular cartilage is the real cause of old cold legs. It is currently believed that factors such as aging, obesity, trauma, and strain will accelerate the wear of cartilage on the surface of the knee joint.

The following types of people are more likely to suffer from old cold legs:

Menopausal women

The incidence of cold legs in menopausal women is 6 times higher than that of men of the same age. Estrogen not only affects the function of osteoclasts, but also plays a nutritional role in articular cartilage. In menopausal women, estrogen levels will drop significantly, bone strength and articular cartilage nutrition will decrease, articular cartilage will be prone to wear and degeneration, and the incidence of arthritis will increase.

Obese people

Obesity increases the load on the knee joint and the pressure on the articular cartilage, making knee cartilage damage more likely to occur.

People with knee injuries

The knee cartilage may also be damaged during an injury, especially in patients with knee fractures. At the same time as the fracture, the articular cartilage is often also damaged to varying degrees.

People in special occupations

For example, people who do heavy manual labor, models, athletes, or people who exercise excessively or improperly.

Why do some people experience joint pain when they are cold? The knee joint has less soft tissue and relatively fewer muscles around it, so external stimuli can easily affect the joint through the skin, subcutaneous tissue, and joint capsule.

Therefore, the knee joint is more sensitive to external temperature changes. Long-term cold stimulation of the knee joint will cause vascular spasm in the knee joint, which can easily induce knee pain.

Will I get "old cold legs" if I don't wear long underwear? Can I prevent it by wearing it?

Cold legs are not caused by freezing!

Cold is not the direct cause of knee osteoarthritis. If you don't wear long underwear when you are young, you may not necessarily suffer from cold legs when you are old. Although there is no direct relationship between cold and cold legs, there is a certain connection.

The cold can also irritate patients with chronic cold legs, causing knee pain and aggravating the symptoms of chronic cold legs.

In winter, people who love beauty want more style than warmth. It is recommended to keep your legs warm. Don't force yourself to do it. Wearing long johns when you feel cold is a good choice. You can also wear knee pads to keep warm.

How to protect the knee joint correctly?

The following 5 points are very important:

1. Reduce the burden on the knee joint

It mainly refers to losing weight. Studies have shown that losing weight is an effective way to relieve knee pain. The knee joint bears several times the force of the human body. After losing weight, the load on the knee joint decreases and the pain can be relieved. This is especially true for obese patients. If the BMI index exceeds 24, then losing weight is particularly important to protect the patient's knee joints.

2. Avoid climbing mountains, squatting and going up and down stairs

Climbing mountains, reducing squatting and going up and down stairs will significantly increase the burden on the knee joints. Patients who already have knee pain should try to avoid such actions.

You can exercise by jogging, brisk walking, or practicing Tai Chi.

3. Strengthen lower limb muscle strength training

Strong thigh muscles can significantly improve knee pain. You can do straight leg raises to exercise in your daily life.

Lie flat on your back on the bed, bend the healthy leg and step on the bed, keep your waist close to the bed, and gradually lift the affected leg until the heel is about 15 cm above the bed. Hold for 3 seconds, then slowly and evenly lower it until it slightly touches the bed, then slowly and evenly lift the leg again, and repeat the previous action. 10 times as a set, 2 to 3 sets a day.

4. Use auxiliary braces in a timely manner

For elderly patients who already have knee pain, crutches can be used to share the force on the knee joint.

5. Keep your knee joints warm

Keeping the knee joints warm in daily life may relieve knee pain and prevent recurrence of knee pain.

Tips

Patients with chronic cold legs should go to the hospital for X-rays and MRI examinations, and have professional doctors assess the severity of knee osteoarthritis.

In addition to the above five points, patients with mild osteoarthritis can also take supplementary drugs to repair joint cartilage:

If the disease continues to progress and obvious pain and dysfunction of the knee joint occur, intra-articular drug injection, arthroscopic joint cavity cleaning and other methods can be performed.

If the articular cartilage and articular surface are obviously damaged and the knee joint force alignment is poor, total joint replacement or knee osteotomy may be considered.

Source: Science Popularization China