Why Am I So Sore in the Wintertime?

Many people experience more aches and soreness in the cold winter months. It’s easy to explain and there are simple things that you can do to help.

I remember in 5th grade doing a science experiment where we took a 2-Liter soda bottle half filled with water and put it outside in the snow in the morning (I grew up in Massachusetts). In the afternoon we retrieved the bottle and not only had the water frozen, the bottle itself had caved in. It contracted. That’s what happens in cold temperatures–contraction.

Think about your posture when you step outside from the warmth of your home. Actually, imagine it right now. Pretend you’re comfortable and cozy indoors, then you open your front door and step into the frigid winter temps. What did your shoulders do? Your chest, your face, your thighs? They all tightened up, didn’t they? Maybe your shoulders shrugged up toward your ears. Maybe your chest caved in and your back rounded. Maybe your thighs clenched together. Notice how your physical body adjusted to even the idea of stepping out of the warmth into the cold.

Just like that plastic bottle in my 5th grade science experiment, our bodies contract in colder temperatures. Of course, there’s a scientific reason for this. When your muscles contract, they create heat in the body. It’s called thermal regulation and it serves to keep us safe and healthy in the summer as well as in the winter. That regular automatic contraction of your muscles in the colder weather is going to result in more tightness in the muscles, which leads to what I think is one of the most important actions to take in the winter to stay feeling great. Stretching!

Think about how your body responded when imagining stepping outside into the cold again. Move your body in that way. Now, do the opposite. Open up. Extend your arms out and back, stretch your chin toward the sky, expand your chest, arch your back slightly, and allow your quadracept muscles to subtly drop and open.

Do this multiple times a day. Even allow yourself to do this when you’re bundled up outside. We can create a new neuropathway by allowing our bodies to expand by stretching this way in the cold. In most cases our bodies are always going to protect us. Sometimes it’s just allowing your body a few minutes to move through the initial discomfort of a changing temperature, then you can consciously stretch and come to more of a place of homeostasis. That is much better than allowing your body to stay in a contracted state, almost like you’re folding in on yourself like a snail trying to squeeze into its shell. It is safe and healthy to stretch your muscles and generate some heat that way.
Before you go outside, try to warm up your muscles indoors by stretching or doing some light cardio. And be sure to bundle up when you do go out. Help your body out by doing a little thermal regulation of your own by wearing appropriate layers.

This is just one factor in the soreness of muscles in the wintertime, but it’s action pretty much most of us can take to improve our results–how we feel. Taking action toward improving how we feel is worth it every time.