You wake up and your knees are aching. You check the forecast and it says rain is coming. That's no coincidence. Inflammatory conditions like osteoarthritis, chronic pain conditions, and old injuries can definitely feel worse in cold weather. The barometric pressure drops swells tissues putting more pressure on sensitive nerves.

Cold damp air stiffens muscles and joints. In chinese medicine we would call this type of condition "cold bi" or cold type of stagnation. Cold contracts and tightens muscles, blood vessels and meridians. It almost feels like clockwork. Whenever the weather turns cold our chronic pain patients will turn up.

There's a wealth of research that points to acupuncture shining in the treatment of all types of osteoarthritis but especially of the knees. Acupuncture calms an overactive pain response and releases the muscle guarding and tightening that is clamping down on a painful joint. Acupuncture guides the body to get fresh circulation moving around arthritic joints, reducing pain and swelling. And what's even more amazing is that acupuncture induces your body to produce it's own powerful natural pain killers!

NSAIDS can be useful for short term flares, but the trade off is that long term use degrades your gut lining and can harm your liver and kidney health. Natural therapies like acupuncture beat NSAIDS by a mile, not only in long term effectiveness, but also in safety.

So if the oncoming cold weather has you walking like the tin man, go ahead and give us a call to book your next appointment.