The colder months of the year are not kind to the people who are living with fibromyalgia. Keeping up with the sudden weather changes can be an extra challenge.
As the weather continues to become cooler, let’s dive into how fibromyalgia and cold weather affect one another and learn some ways to cope while keeping ourselves warm.
How Does the Cold Weather Affect People With Fibromyalgia?
By cold, I mean any day below 60 degrees can hurt me. Granted, I have other conditions that make me intolerant to the cold (Raynaud’s disease, lupus, and thyroid disease), but I feel the cold also impacts my fibromyalgia greatly.
Most researchers agree that fibromyalgia is a disorder of central processing with neuroendocrine and neurotransmitter dysregulation. Those who suffer from the disorder experience pain amplification due to abnormal sensory processing in the central nervous system.
It determined that in the hands and feet, the blood vessels act as shunts, helping to speed blood flow and regulate body temperature. So, with increased nerve fibers, the fibromyalgia sufferer feels this regulation of blood flow as pain.
Another study determined that even a cold breeze blowing across an already energy-deficient muscle of someone with fibromyalgia will throw it into a reaction of tightening up or shortening (which are the primary and key cause of pain in this disorder).
It’s time to bundle up and take on the cold weather with fibromyalgia. Below are a few ways you can increase your body’s temperature during the cooler and colder months.
Studies have shown that taking warm or hot baths can have a therapeutic effect on fibromyalgia pain. In fact, researchers believe taking a warm bath after spending time during the day being uncomfortably chilly will help you recover faster.
Clothes that restrict blood flow seem to cause more pain. I dress in layers that are fairly loose and trap in my body heat. They also allow me to quickly adjust to changes in the weather (say the sun comes out and it warms up a bit) by removing a layer as needed.
It is also vital to have gloves, hats, and scarves, no matter how silly you may feel about wearing them in May. Get them in team colors and wear them with pride!
This actually can keep your whole body warmer too, because proper blood flow is crucial to all over warmth of the body.
Managing days where you must be outside in chilly, damp weather is a challenge for some of us with fibromyalgia. But by taking a few precautions and warming the body back up after it has been chilled, you can decrease your level of pain and the duration of the overall discomfort.
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