Arthritis joint pain in summer? Here's what to do.

Changes in the weather can aggravate arthritis pain for people living with joint inflammation.

You might think you’re home free in the summer, but that’s not always the case. Even though swelling and stiffness are felt most during the winter, arthritis can flare up even in the hottest months. And while studies have not conclusively connected joint pain to the weather, the Arthritis Foundation finds that humidity and temperature do affect how our bodies feel overall.

But arthritis — which affects about 60 million adults and 200,000 children in the U.S. — has less to do with climate and more with our level of physical activity, said orthopedic surgeon Dr. Edward Blocker of Novant Health Orthopedics & Sports Medicine - Beaufort.

Nicer weather means the risk of injuries like falls and sprains goes up, especially for older adults. But when approached with care, regular exercise can reduce joint pain while strengthening your heart and helping you maintain a healthy weight.

One key to less pain? Drinking water, and lots of it.

“Because we sweat more when it’s hot and humid, hydrating helps to replenish fluids, lubricate the joints and fight inflammation while staying active,” Blocker said.

Here, he discusses how he helps patients prevent joint pain all year long.

Do people experience more arthritis pain when it’s hotter and more humid outside?

Usually it’s just the opposite. In the colder months, joints get stiffer than usual, but people are generally more active when it’s warmer outside, so that can accentuate joint pain in a different way.

The more active you are the better, because your joints are moving. But it’s important to be careful because humidity is a variable, and I think as the atmospheric pressure declines, some people seem to hurt more. When we sweat, we’re losing water, and dehydration can stiffen the joints.

What types of arthritis do you treat most often?

Every one of us gets some form of arthritis at some point in our lives. Think of your car’s tires: You put 75,000 miles on them, and that rubber is going to wear down. The same goes for wear-and-tear on your joints.

I mostly treat osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, which are both chronic. Osteoarthritis is most common in older adults and is a degenerative wear-and-tear of the cartilage, the cushion between the bones. As we age, our cartilage wears out and doesn’t have the ability to heal like other body tissues.

Your immune system is supposed to attack viruses and bacteria. But with rheumatoid arthritis, your immune system attacks the cartilage. The less cartilage, the greater the pain. Some people live with both osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, and the latter can even affect kids.

Can cracking your knuckles cause problems down the road?

It could. When you pop your knuckle there’s a kind of suction phenomenon that happens. The joint of a finger knuckle is a rounded bone sitting inside of a little socket. There’s fluid in the joint, so when you crack your knuckles, it has the effect of a mini jackhammer. That can damage the cartilage, especially if you do it repeatedly. I had a bad habit of popping my big toes, and now I have terrible arthritis in those joints.

When is surgery necessary for arthritis, versus a shot or an over-the-counter remedy?

Usually by the time a patient sees an orthopedist, they’re beyond taking an Advil every now and then. So the first line of treatment is activity modification, which may involve backing away from sports like running, and transitioning to lower-impact activities like walking, swimming or pickleball.

The next step might be over-the-counter or prescription anti-inflammatories, or a cortisone (steroid) shot to treat the inflammation and manage pain.

We’re born with hyaline cartilage, which wears out as we get older. And because we can’t make it grow back, sometimes that requires a knee replacement — and that’s the final option.

My philosophy is that your knee will tell you when it’s time. Sometimes an X-ray shows severe arthritis, but the patient is having only mild symptoms, so I won’t push for a knee replacement. I’ve never told anybody they need a knee replacement. It becomes self-evident, once you ask them what their life is like. And I believe the physician should listen to the patient.