During the winter season, bones normally become stiff, inflexible and creaking; making life of people with arthritis and cervical spondylosis more troublesome. They can sense and predict the change in weather, with heightened discomfort in the joints of hands, feet, hip, neck and knees.
As the days are shorter, a lot of people tend to hibernate and laze around during the winters. However, this is also the time when people with ailments need to be extra careful about their Vitamin D deficiency and should take proper medical care and exercise.
"Along with extreme weather conditions, Vitamin D deficiency is another major crisis in Delhi and other cities where mercury goes down very low. Its deficiency impacts more than just bones," said MD Aakash Healthcare and a celebrated Orthopaedic surgeon, Dr. Aashish Chaudhry.
"We knew that Vitamin D is a carrier of calcium and is crucial for bone health along with other ailments and disorders such as hypertension, depression, diabetes and cardio diseases. Therefore, it is vitally important that this problem is addressed through adequate intake of Vitamin D from various sources including medicine. Exercise is one to the most effective ways to improve bone health for everyone," he added.
Lack of physical activity among people leads to other health complications such as arthritis. The joints become stiff in winters, therefore, staying active and warm is the only pragmatic solution to alleviate the pain.
During winters, people with cervical spondylosis face really tough days, though this is a disorder in the neck that nags throughout life, if left to worsen.
It has a crippling effect on them and if left unaddressed, may culminate into involvement of the entire spinal cord and manifests as paralytic condition.
To keep the bones healthy, experts recommend that one should also cut down on alcohol, smoking and caffeine. Excess caffeine hinders with body's capability to absorb calcium, decreasing bone mass.
"Vitamin D deficiency is a worldwide concern. It is also known as "Sunshine Vitamin" the modern indoor lifestyle with lack of sunshine exposure and change in dietary habits predispose to deficiency. Vitamin D is produced by the body in response to skin being exposed to sunlight. It is also present naturally in a some foods like fish, egg yolk, fortified dairy and grain products," said senior consultant, Orthopedics, Joint Reconstruction and Spine Surgery, BLK Super Speciality Hospital, Dr. Rakesh Mahajan.
The idea behind exercise is to keep the movement in the joints.
Consider discomfort in joints a premonition and avoid sitting around a lot when the mercury drops. One should cover their feet, hands and head properly to trap the body heat during the aforesaid months.
A light stroll indoors is fine or casual stretching.
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