The festive season is here and with it comes celebrations, parties, shopping, and festive activities. But if you’re struggling with joint pain, the holiday rush can feel more daunting than joyful. Whether you are planning on walking round the Christmas markets, having a go at ice skating, or simply heading down frosty roads joint pain can dampen your holiday spirit
At The Reinge Clinic, we specialise in helping people manage joint pain with personalised physiotherapy, sports therapy, and biomechanics expertise. Whether your pain stems from osteoarthritis, an injury, or overuse, we’re here to give you some ideas for staying active and pain-free this festive season.
Ice skating if you have Joint Pain
Ice skating is a great winter activity and is a fabulous way to stay fit and have fun. However, there is a need to have good balance and strong ankles. If you are prone to knee, hip or ankle joint pain, skating can be challenging. This is because when you skate you are inherently unstable. This means the muscles that stabilise your joints need to work harder to keep you upright.
In people with joint pain, they tend to have weaker stabilisers making exercises like ice skating challenging. This can be solved with targeted balance work and we can asses and set you up with a personalised program ready for next winters activities. For this year, it would be wise to take a look at our article on staying injury free whilst ice skating. Make sure your boots are tied up tightly and if necessary strap up your angles and wrists to give them some external support with a joint brace.
Walking on Ice or Slippery Surfaces
Frosty pavements and icy paths can be hazardous, especially for those with joint instability. As with the Ice Skating above, the issue here is one of balance. If your foot slips sideways are we able to counteract that so we stay upright? Wearing grippy shoes is useful and if it is very icy using a walking pole can also help. When ice is around people tend to shorten their stride in tho hope that this will help, but actually it can make things worse. Shortening your stride will alter your centre of balance and can actually make you more prone to falling over.
Again, the solution here is to strengthen up to body. Practicing standing on one leg will build your balance muscles, over time try to balance on one leg with one eye closed, this will make it harder. Once you have mastered this, close both eyes! Now you have to use your internal sensors to balance. This is important, as when we slip it is the internal sensors that will kick in to keep us upright.
The icy surface itself can be an issue, due to it’s temperature. Being cold it makes your feet cold and this can stiffen up your whole body, making it even harder to walk. Thick, warm sock and many layers can help with this, as can winter boots, designed with thick, warm soles to keep the cold out and the warmth of our bodies in. Take a look at our article specifically on this area.
Shopping Trips
Shopping is tricky with joint pain for two reasons. One, you are on your feet for a long time. Often standing statically in queues that never seem to move. If you experiance back pain, you will understand what we mean. As the queue moves every slower, your back pain increases. This often occurs because people with back pain generally have weak stabiliser muscles. To compensate for the weakness in this area, the larger muscles kick in when you stand and move to assist. However, if you are on your feet for a long time without moving, such as standing in a queue, these muscles get tired. They aren’t designed to be active for long periods of time and they tire easily. Once you start moving again, the issue generally disappears, but while static it grows.
We are able to treat this sort of back pain with strengthening work, this wakes up the deeper muscles that stabilise your spine, allowing the larger ones to relax. Take a look at how we tackle this in more depth here. To survive this Christmas season, try to shop at times when shops are quieter. Avoid the last minute rush if you can by organising your shopping trips away from the key dates. Christmas eve, for example, is perhaps not the best day to do the food shop! Use online deliveries where possible and click and collect services can really help here.
If you have managed to survive the queues and successfully made your purchases, you then need to carry these bags back to the car! Shoulders, knees and backs all struggle here. One solution is to use a wheeled trolly. This used to be just for elderly people, but now all age groups have cottoned on to the fact that this is easier and both young and old are embracing a wheeled trolly.
The Christmas Party!
For anyone with back pain or knee pain, the Christmas party can be very daunting. Standing round for hours chatting, dancing or just walking in heels. It is all a recipe for pain that even the bottle of Proscetto doing the rounds will struggle to sort!
Firstly, annoying as it sound heels are not your friend! High heels are guaranteed to give you back pain and if you have any arthritis in your spine you may well wake up, with not just a hangover, but also sciatic pain. Not a great combination. Try to keep your heel size down to the minimum possible. When we walk in heels, we shorten our calf muscles and push our centre of balance forwards. This can create pain in the heel joint, plantar fasciitis, and, due to the anterior tilted position it places your pelvis in, back pain can result.
If you are walking to and from your party and there is ice around, you ankles need to be particularly strong to avoid a sideways collapse and the inevitable ankle and knee pain that creates. We see so many people come in with back pain, due to wearing high heels over the festive period!
If you are able to, interject your dancing with sitting. Pace your body and it will reward you with a pain free evening. And, yes, I’m sorry to say alcohol makes inflammation worse, so if you have arthritis, it may be best to keep the alcohol levels low, or at least interject with water at regular intervals. If the worst happens and you wake up with swollen sore joints, or that dreaded back pain. Grab and ice pack and place it on the affected area for 10 minutes. It will help calm the inflammation and numb the pain. Repeat every hour for a day or two and if it hasn’t calmed down, give us a call and we will try to sort it out.
Preparing the House
Tree collecting and setting up, Climbing ladders to get those decorations from the loft or cooking the Christmas dinner can all become challenging if you have Joint pain. Some companies will deliver and set up your Christmas tree for you, but many people with joint pain find it easier to go with an artificial tree, and a smaller one that is easier to decorate.
If your tree isn’t too large you won’t need to reach as much and may be able to use a stool to perch on while you hang the baubles. The tree lights are always a challenge, whether you have joint pain or not! So perhaps get a tree that has them already built in. One less thing to worry about.
Of course all that reaching, bending and lifting are actually very good for your body. One of the worst things for the body is to protect it and give it less movement. However, these movements need to be within your ability levels, so as not to irritate or inflame your joints. So get a tree you can manage and perhaps engage other family members to share the workload where possible.
The Christmas dinner is another area that can create issues. If possible spread the process throughout the day, so you can have breaks, sit and rest or grab a glass of something (for medicinal purposes of course!). If you get wrist or hand pain and struggle to chop veg, using sharp scissors can be a life saver. Food processors often come with a chop function that can help here. If you are able to, prepare some of the food the day before so everything isn’t being done at the same time.
Pacing is the key word here. If you spread the tasks out and keep them manageable, you will be able to complete it all without excess achiness and pain.
General Tips to Protect Your Joints This Christmas
1. Stay Active with Low-Impact Exercises
As mentioned above regular movement can help reduce stiffness and strengthen the muscles around your joints. Activities such as walking, swimming, or gentle indoor cycling are excellent low-impact options. If you’re unsure which exercises are safe for your joints, our Full Body Assessments can help you with a tailored exercise plan.
2. Don’t Ignore Pain Signals
Joint pain is your body’s way of telling you to take a break. If you experience discomfort, rest and apply ice to reduce inflammation. If the pain doesn’t subside it is best to get some help to find out the root cause of your pain. There is almost always some way to improve pain, even if you have arthritis or the pain has been there for a long time. Give us a call and let us take a look.
3. Warm Up and Stay Warm
Cold weather can make joints feel stiffer, so dress warmly, especially if you’re outdoors. Before you start any physical activity, make sure you include a gentle warm-up to get your blood flowing and prepare your muscles for movement. In very cold days, heated blankets, scarves, gloves and even socks! Can really help.
4. Watch Your Posture
As mentioned before, standing or sitting for long periods can increase joint discomfort. Pay attention to your posture and break up long periods of inactivity with light stretching or movement. This, however, is a sign that your body is crying out for some strength work, so get in touch and we can tailor you an achievable exercise program.
5. Seek Professional Treatment
Whether you’re managing osteoarthritis, recovering from an injury, or dealing with general joint pain, The Reinge Clinic offers expert physiotherapy and tailored treatments to relieve discomfort and improve mobility.
In conclusion, planning ahead, spreading out tasks, wearing flatter shoes and shopping on “quieter” days can all help if you struggle with joint pain. But ultimately the solution to joint pain is a thorough assessment and targeted exercise program that will allow you to get on with your life without having to think about your joints.
If you have had the best pre Christmas experience but are now in pain, give us a call. We are open over Christmas and fully ready for those festive mishaps.
