Why Arthritis Gets Worse in the Winter Months
Dr. Joseph Mercola - Take Control of Your Health
Briana Mercola
4.6 • 1.5K Ratings
🗓️ 30 December 2025
⏱️ 7 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
- Cold weather worsens arthritis symptoms by thickening joint fluid, slowing blood flow, and tightening muscles, which amplifies pain and stiffness
- Drops in barometric pressure cause tendons and muscles to expand, adding extra pressure to already inflamed joints and increasing discomfort
- Reduced sunlight during winter lowers vitamin D levels, weakening bones and increasing inflammation, while inactivity further restricts circulation
- Eliminating seed oils, boosting vitamin K2, optimizing vitamin D, and sipping warm bone broth help reduce inflammation, strengthen cartilage, and restore flexibility
- Daily movement, heat therapy, and sunlight exposure keep joints lubricated, improve circulation, and help you stay active and pain-free all winter long
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Are your joints stiffer, your hands clumsier, and your morning slower the moment the weather turns cold? |
| 0:06.0 | Welcome to Dr. Mercola's cellular wisdom. Stay informed with quick, easy-to-listen summaries of our latest articles, perfect for when you're on the go. No reading required. |
| 0:15.0 | Subscribe for free at Mercola.com for the latest health insights. |
| 0:19.0 | Hello and welcome to Dr. Mercola's cellular wisdom. |
| 0:22.6 | I'm Ethan Foster. |
| 0:24.1 | Today we're looking at why winter amplifies arthritis pain |
| 0:27.6 | and what you can do to stay mobile when temperatures drop. |
| 0:31.1 | I'm Alara Sky. |
| 0:32.6 | We'll break down how cold barometric pressure, |
| 0:35.2 | sunlight exposure, and daily habits interact with your joints, |
| 0:38.3 | and will outline practical steps you can apply right away. |
| 0:42.3 | When the temperature falls, the synovial fluid that keeps your joints gliding thickens. |
| 0:47.3 | That sluggish oil feeling shows up as stiffness when you stand, grip, or start walking. You feel inflammation more, not because cold is damaging the joint directly, |
| 0:58.0 | but because performance changes in a way that exposes irritation you already have. |
| 1:03.0 | You also react to barometric pressure. |
| 1:06.0 | When pressure dips before a storm, |
| 1:08.0 | tendons and muscles expand slightly and press into already crowded joint |
| 1:13.0 | spaces. That expansion increases tenderness around swollen capsules. Many of you can sense a weather |
| 1:20.3 | shift before it hits because your joints register that pressure change. Cold constricts blood vessels |
| 1:26.8 | and slows circulation. |
| 1:28.3 | Less oxygen and fewer nutrients reach sensitive tissues, |
| 1:31.3 | making recovery slower and movement uncomfortable, |
... |
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