Mom, wearing thermal underwear or not has nothing to do with chronic cold legs!

“There is a kind of cold that makes your mother think you are cold.” Winter is here, and it is the season when parents urge their children to wear long johns.

"Remember to wear long underwear, otherwise you will get cold legs when you get old." What exactly is cold legs? Will you really get cold legs if you don't wear long underwear?

What are "old cold legs"?

What we often call "old cold legs" is actually knee osteoarthritis, a degenerative disease of the knee joint. The main clinical manifestations are knee pain, swelling and limited mobility, and the main pathological manifestations are fibrosis, wear and tear of the knee cartilage, accompanied by synovial congestion, edema and bone hyperplasia.

According to incomplete statistics, the incidence rate of people over 60 years old in China is 50%, and the incidence rate of people over 75 years old is as high as 80%. There are about 120 million people in China who suffer from knee osteoarthritis pain. Studies have shown that among patients with knee osteoarthritis, nearly 20% will have symptoms of anxiety and depression, which is an important reason for the decline in the quality of life and increased economic burden of middle-aged and elderly people around the world.

Once you have knee osteoarthritis, your knee joint may experience the following symptoms:

1. Long-term recurrent pain that worsens after exercise and eases after rest;

2. Difficulty walking, difficulty squatting or difficulty standing up after squatting, obvious pain when going up and down stairs, or stabbing pain when moving suddenly;

3. Some patients also experience the so-called "morning stiffness", where they cannot move their legs and feet when they get up in the morning. This also happens after sitting or standing for a long time, but generally does not last more than half an hour.

4. There is always a "cracking" sound when moving the joints, and even the situation of "weak legs" when walking. These symptoms will be significantly aggravated when catching a cold, when the weather changes or the humidity increases, or when there is cold stimulation, which is the origin of the saying of "old cold legs";

5. In severe cases, lower limb muscle atrophy may occur, and joint swelling may also occur due to joint effusion and synovitis.

6. When arthritis progresses to the late stage, the knee joint will gradually become unable to straighten or bend, and some patients will also have obvious "bow legs" or "X-shaped legs".

Why do people get “old cold legs”?

The occurrence of "old cold legs" or knee arthritis is mainly related to the following factors:

1. Age factor: The incidence of knee osteoarthritis increases with age, and the ability of articular cartilage to repair gradually decreases.

2. Weight factors: Increased weight will cause uneven force on the knee joint, heavy load on the joint, and easy deformation.

3. Occupational factors: People in certain special occupations are also prone to knee osteoarthritis, such as manual laborers, professional athletes, etc.

4. Concomitant diseases: such as osteoporosis, diabetes, gout, etc.

5. Traumatic factors: cartilage destruction or changes in joint structure due to trauma, surgery or other factors.

Although there are so many factors that cause osteoarthritis, not wearing long underwear has no direct relationship with arthritis.

How to prevent “old cold legs”?

Although the occurrence of osteoarthritis cannot be completely prevented at present, some measures can reduce or delay the occurrence of osteoarthritis.

1

Avoid standing or sitting for long periods of time

Sitting or standing for long periods of time, this habit will cause chronic strain of the lumbar spine, hip joints, and knee joints.

Because the knee joint uses compression to send nutrients from the synovial fluid into the cartilage cells, if you sit still, the joints are not loaded, but the articular cartilage does not undergo the compression-relaxation process like a sponge absorbs water, so it naturally cannot absorb nutrients. Similarly, any posture you maintain for too long will have the same effect on the knee joint. It is recommended that you maintain the same posture for no more than 40 minutes .

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2

Proper functional exercise

The principle of knee joint functional exercise is to focus on active non-weight-bearing activities, practice joint movement, and enhance muscle strength. Functional exercise can promote local blood circulation, protect and enhance the elasticity and toughness of soft tissues, reduce the incidence rate, and prolong the interval between disease attacks. Such as straight leg raising in all directions, clam-style opening and closing exercises, swimming, cycling, etc.

3

Avoid movements that hurt your knees

For example, climbing tall buildings, climbing slopes, and climbing mountains.

Excessive and repetitive weight-bearing knee flexion and extension movements will accelerate joint wear. For example, when climbing stairs or mountains, the knee joints have to bear 3 to 4 times the weight of your body. So try not to climb a slope if you can walk on a flat road, and try not to take the stairs if you can take the elevator.

4

Lose weight

Obesity is a less well-known cause of arthritis. Obesity increases the burden on the joint surface, which accelerates the wear and aging of the joint structure. Therefore, most obese people are more likely to develop osteoarthritis in the knee, spine and foot joints. Appropriate and healthy weight loss can relieve symptoms such as pain and limb disability caused by arthritis, and also has a positive effect on curing arthritis.

5

Keep your knee joints warm

After exercise or in hot weather, when you sweat a lot, you should not immediately enter an air-conditioned room, use an electric fan or take a cold shower, because catching a cold can easily trigger and aggravate the condition. In winter, you should pay attention to keeping your knee joints warm to prevent the joints from being invaded by cold and dampness.

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6

Nutritional supplement for knee joints

Appropriate intake of vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, glucosamine and vitamin B supplements can have a certain preventive effect on osteoarthritis of the knee.

If you have symptoms of arthritis, then remember: Although not wearing long underwear does not cause cold legs, wearing long underwear can also protect us from "cold legs", so never "forget to wear long underwear".

References

[1]Uivaraseanu B, Vesa CM, Tit DM, Abid A, Maghiar O, Maghiar TA, Hozan C, Nechifor AC, Behl T, Patrascu JM, Patrascu JM, et al: Therapeutic approaches in the management of knee osteoarthritis (Review). Exp Ther Med 23: 328, 2022.

[2] Xun Rui, Guan Shikun, Guo Shuxin, Liu Xuejian, Liu Ning. Research progress of unicompartmental knee arthroplasty in the treatment of elderly patients with knee osteoarthritis. Chinese Journal of Reparative and Reconstructive Surgery, 2024, 38(8): 1022-1026. doi: 10.7507/1002-1892.202403092

[3]Cui A, Li H, Wang D, Zhong J, Chen Y, Lu H: Global, regional prevalence, incidence and risk factors of knee osteoarthritis in population-based studies. EClinicalMedicine. 2020, 29-30:100587. 10.1016/j.eclinm.2020.100587

[4] Joint Surgery Group of the Orthopaedic Branch of the Chinese Medical Association. Guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of osteoarthritis (2018 edition) [J]. Chinese Journal of Orthopaedics, 2018, 38 (12): 705-715.

Planning and production

Author: Deng Ting, attending physician of orthopedics department of Changsha Third Hospital

Reviewer: Ji Gang, deputy chief physician of orthopedics, the First Hospital of Hebei Medical University

Planning丨Fu Sijia

Editor: Fu Sijia

Proofread by Xu Lailinlin