Will you get cold legs if you go out without wearing long underwear? The answer from doctors at West China Hospital is...

Two days ago, I was still bathed in the warm winter sun.

Today in Chengdu, it is so cold! It makes me jump!

Some people have begun to look forward to

#It may snow in Chengdu in the next two days# This matter

But some people are more concerned about:

"Mom! Where are my woolen pants?!"

Because I have a pair of "old cold legs"

I felt sick earlier than the weather forecast

Especially when the weather changes suddenly

Old cold legs, old cold legs

Is it really caused by "cold"?

Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University

Dr. Tan Chunyu will talk about the legs today.

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Almost everyone has heard the term "old cold legs" since childhood. Usually, it feels fine, but when it rains or the temperature drops, it becomes very uncomfortable: leg pain, stiffness, weakness, heaviness, swelling, numbness... and even unable to walk.

But in fact, there is no such disease as "old cold legs" in either traditional Chinese medicine or Western medicine; old cold legs is a general description of the above symptoms, not the name of a disease.

There are many reasons for "old cold legs", and there are four common types of problems:

Osteoporosis

Especially for middle-aged and elderly women, because of the rapid loss of bone mass after menopause, or the drastic changes in hormones caused by hormone drugs...this may lead to malnutrition and osteoporosis, thereby causing the symptoms of "old cold legs".

Rheumatic diseases

In the early stages of this type of disease, there will be some damage to the cartilage on the surface of the joints, and its manifestation is also "old cold legs": fever and swelling will occur during acute attacks, and discomfort will still be felt during chronic conditions.

Osteoarthritis

This type of disease has no specific symptoms in the early stages. The main manifestation is heaviness and discomfort in the lower limbs. Only a few patients have symptoms of inflammation (redness, swelling, heat and pain).

Restless Legs Syndrome

This is a neurological disease, usually characterized by extreme discomfort in both lower limbs during sleep at night, leading to severe sleep disorders in patients.

In addition, "old cold legs" may also be a local manifestation of other systemic diseases, such as organic diseases, etc., but it is not common.

Wait, no "cold shock"?

Isn't there "not wearing long johns" or "showing ankles"?

Yes! Cold legs may be caused by problems with bones, joints, muscles, nerves, etc., but it is definitely not caused by "cold"!

But since it has nothing to do with the cold, why do many people feel that their legs will cool down when it rains?

That's because the legs that have this feeling already have problems.

Cold weather itself does not cause or aggravate "old cold legs", but for patients with existing bone and joint diseases, this weather will make the symptoms more obvious.

Take osteoarthritis as an example: a healthy joint with normal metabolism has strong regulatory and adaptability, which is enough to resist cold stimulation and is not so easily affected. However, a diseased joint is normally "unable to protect itself", and the cold stimulation is undoubtedly worse for it.

The cold causes the skin temperature around the joints to drop , stimulating the contraction of blood vessels around the joints and reducing the secretion of synovial fluid , which causes the joint cartilage to lack nutrition and moisture.

In addition, the peripheral blood circulation slows down, and inflammatory metabolites become more difficult to eliminate , which ultimately work together to produce symptoms of pain and discomfort.

Therefore, it is not the "cold" that causes cold legs, but the cold legs make people more "afraid of cold"! This group of people may be particularly sensitive to temperature changes and should pay more attention to keeping warm. They can prepare long johns, knee pads, and warm baby~

I would like to remind you that when using a warm baby, be careful of low-temperature burns when it comes into contact with thinner skin tissue (such as the knee joints, etc.)

If it's not because I'm wearing too little,

Why are more and more young people suffering?

Take the initiative to start "locking" with long johns?

Some people may suffer from meniscus and ligament injuries due to improper exercise, which leaves the root of the disease.

For the other large number of young people with "old cold legs" who don't even twist their legs at all, it is recommended that they see a doctor and find out the cause as soon as possible. It is important to prescribe the right medicine and carry out daily maintenance !

Because old cold legs is a symptom with age characteristics, doctors recommend that everyone must first find out the specific and accurate cause of the disease and prescribe the right medicine to stop the worsening of symptoms in time.

In addition to keeping warm in cold weather and taking appropriate medicine, cold legs can be treated with more attention and protection in daily life:

1

Avoid climbing mountains, reduce stairs, and squat correctly

In fact, for the knee joint, such as going downstairs, downhill such exercise is weight-bearing exercise. When going downstairs, downhill, the weight borne by one leg is twice that of usual, and the same action is repeated continuously, which will cause continuous damage to the knee joint.

What's more serious is that some people like to land on their heels first when going downstairs or down a mountain, which is more harmful to the knees; the soles of the feet should land first, which can reduce the impact force on the knee joint and thus relieve the pressure on the knee joint.

When squatting, the key point is to pay attention to the movement: the distance between your feet should be as wide as or slightly wider than your shoulders, and the direction of force exerted by the knee joint should be consistent with that of the toes.

If the knee joint is turned inward, the entire joint will be in an X-shaped valgus state, which will cause unnecessary twisting and turning of the joint. Long-term exercise like this will make the knee joint unbalanced, thereby causing or aggravating symptoms of knee pain.

2

Exercises to strengthen the muscles around the joints

Strong muscles can reduce the force and burden on the joints and significantly improve joint pain. In daily life, you can exercise by lying flat on your back with your legs raised, squatting against the wall, etc.

Lie flat on the bed (or on a chair), bend one leg naturally, tighten the muscles of the other leg, straighten it, curl the toes, lift it up to 45 degrees to the bed, hold for 5 seconds, then return to the original position. Repeat 10 times with both legs alternating.

Wall squat: keep your upper body close to the wall, take a step forward, squat, and keep your calves perpendicular to the ground. Your knees should not exceed your toes, and keep a certain angle with your thighs. There is no need to pursue 90°. Keep it until exhaustion as long as it does not cause pain. Repeat 5 to 10 times a day.

3

Pay attention to proper calcium supplementation

In fact, human bone mass reaches its peak at around 30 years old and then starts to decline. Therefore, prevention is more important than treatment. Take calcium supplements when you are young so that you will not suffer from "old cold legs" when you are old.

In terms of diet, you can consume more dairy products, soy products, green leafy vegetables, etc., or consider calcium supplements; in life, you can get more sun exposure.

Although not wearing long underwear will not affect the knee

But the maintenance of your legs should always be kept in mind.

So that you won't be trapped in the house by illness

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