This week a Pineapple Express strong rain storm with high altitude snow is battering Southern California, where many of our readers live.
A quick internet search reveals that if wet weather causes your joints to feel a little stiff, it could be that changes in barometric air pressure, which happens before rain starts, can allow muscles, tendons and other tissues around joints to expand. The expansion may crowd the joints, putting extra pressure on them, which may lead to pain.
However, movement still is possible!
Except we need to ease into it slower than normal giving our synovial fluid a chance to lubricate joints, such as shoulders, hips, elbows and knees.
The National Institutes of Health definition is that “Synovial fluid is a viscous solution found in the cavities of synovial joints. The principal role of synovial fluid is to reduce friction between the articular cartilages of synovial joints during movement.”
Side note…dietary suggestions from VeryWellHealth for increasing synovial fluid include consuming more dark, leafy vegetables, Omega-3 fatty acids (more salmon, mackerel) Curcumin, high antioxidant foods such as onions, garlic, berries and nuts and seeds.
Rainy weather exercise suggestions include easy-does-it getting on that stationery bike or treadmill which may have been neglected.
Or do standing, non-jump, jumping jacks – just stepping out sideways with each leg and arm.
Remember standing wall pushups? They are great for bringing back upper-body strength.
Marching in place, then around the room, will ramp up circulation.
By choosing our favorite get-moving at home exercises, we won’t need to be singing that 1940’s Stormy Weather, feel sad, blues song.
Instead we can look outside and say…“How great the rain. We really need it!” WF!
