Many a summer afternoon was I haunted by the sight of my great-grandmother, almost 90 at the time, rubbing her pain-afflicted arthritic hands and auspiciously calling out "Mind you, the weather's about to change". Soon afterwards, the sky opened up and heavy rain would come pouring down. As a child, I was mezmerised by the kind centenarian's ability to magically predict the weather; growing up, I came to realise that there is a scientific explanation hidden behind her auspices.
What my great-grandma didn't know was that joints and bones are surrounded by tendons and ligaments, and these tend to expand when air pressure drops and humidity rises.
The simplest way to put it is this: imagine the air around you is like a balloon, pushing around and keeping everything in place. If you deflate the balloon just a little, things won't feel as tight and your ligaments have more room to expand, pulling your bones and joints with them.
Feeling that first pang my immediate reaction was to go back and try to remember what my great-grandmother used to do when she was in pain. Her first advice was to drink more water; no wonder this seemed to work. One other thing she would do was soak clean linen bands in boiled water, infused with arnica and a few drops of homemade menthol extract. Then she would wrap these bands around her aching arthritic joints and sip her tea calmly by the window. No wonder she reached 98!
In The Collagen Shop we combined age-old knowledge with scientific research and came up with an effective way to help relieve aching joints and pains, from the inside out. Our Arnica Gel with MSM is your ally to combat those weather-related pains and strains; the cooling menthol will sooth your aching joints immediately with a long-lasting effect, perfect for those pre-storm pangs. For a more holistic approach you can combine it with our Collagen MSM Plus Liquid supplement, scientifically proven to help address joint health, bone health and muscle loss from the inside; especially helpful for people with osteoarthritis or chronic joint pains. I' m sure that had my great-grandmother known about the amazing effects of collagen for the body, she might have lived to be 100!
Even if you in perfect good health, you might experience a twist or pang right before a big autumn storm, which is exactly what happened to me recently- and the reason behind my research on the matter.
Besides barometric pressure, another factor that can accentuate pain is high humidity. It is well known that humidity directly affects body hydration: this is why on humid days we tend to feel thirstier. Dehydration is inherently bad for your joints; when your water levels are low, the fluid around your joints is less, making every move much more painful. Studies indicate also that high humidity levels in the air around us can thicken our blood, which in turn increases blood pressure. We will soon post tips and advice on how to combat all the above- keep in touch for more!
Find out more here about our Arnica Gel and Collagen MSM Plus