Air conditioning offers a lot of benefits from providing an environment that encourages better sleep at home to ensuring improved work permanence at the offices and lots of others. But do you know air conditioning may be responsible for some illness or pains?
Can air conditioning cause joint pain? Well, they do!
Now let’s go about the details.
Can air conditioning make your body ache
Yes, air conditioning can make one’s body ache!
To derive optimal results from our air conditioning, we always close doors and windows so that the air indoor stays regulated. But little did we know that we are depriving our bodies of the natural moisture that is present in the fresh air. If we stay in an air-conditioned room for a long time, it absorbs moisture in the body and causes the temperature to drop below normal.
When this happens, this is when we tend to experience some anomalies in the body metabolism like headaches and backaches.
Sometimes, this discomfort could extend to the joints and muscles which may later degenerate into rheumatism over time, and in severe cases, it could lead to arthritis.
Can air conditioning give you a stiff neck
Yes, prolonged exposure of your neck to cold air from the air conditioner can make your neck stiff!
When the neck is laid bare to cold air from air conditioning, most especially at a time when we are sweating, it could lead to neck muscle contraction. This is a result of the constriction of the blood vessels caused by the interrupted flow of blood.
When there is an interrupted supply of blood to the neck muscles, the neck muscles become inelastic and that is when we experience difficulties making a motion with our neck. The two muscles majorly affected are the sternocleidomastoid and the upper trapezius muscles.
Although we all have a different recovery period, neck stiffness is not expected to last longer than 1 to 4 weeks.
Can you get back pain from air conditioning
Yes, air conditioning can cause back pain!
Cold air from the air conditioner can cause the muscles and tendons found around the spine to constrict. This may put pressure on the spine to draw on the tense nerve roots retreating from the spine thereby causing discomfort on the back.
Does an air conditioner affect the bones
Yes AC can affect the bones!
When the AC is turned on for a prolonged period, the room temperature becomes relatively low which could weaken the bone due to exposure of the body to the coldness of the AC.
Is an air conditioner bad for your bone
No! Air conditioner is not bad for the bone.
Although sometimes after some undue amount of time in an air-conditioned room, our bones may become weak or may feel some pain in our joints, these discomforts are often mild and can hardly lead to hospitalization. So it will be pointless to say that they are bad for the bone.
Does an air conditioner bother arthritis
Yes, it does bother arthritis!
For anyone suffering from arthritis, exposure to air conditioners for a long time may cause it to deteriorate further but it is not the principal cause of arthritis.
Arthritis is a result of the depletion the body undergoes over time. When the cartilage which protects the joint depletes, it will lead to stiffness, restricted motions, and discomfort.
Muscle pains due to air condition
Muscle pain is also known as myalgia is a situation whereby an individual feels soreness or discomfort in the muscles which may vary from acute to mild conditions. Muscle pain can be caused by exercise, trying out a new activity completely strange to the body, or sprains.
The aforementioned are natural causes because they happen as a result of engaging your muscle in physical activities. As earlier pointed out, prolonged stay in a fully air-conditioned room can also lead to muscle pains ( you can reference back to the earlier section of this article on how this happens). Some muscle pain related to air conditioning include;
1. Cramp: This is an intense contraction of the muscle that happens unexpectedly and lasts only for a few seconds or minutes. Other causes of cramps include; Dehydration, pregnancy, and overused muscle.
2. Stiffness: This is a situation whereby the muscle is firm and becomes almost impossible to make any movement. Muscle stiffness is not expected to occur for a prolonged number of times as pain disappears by itself. Other causes of stiffness may include; exercise, sprain, weight lifting, etc.
3. Spasm: This is an involuntary muscle contraction that is often accompanied by intense pain. It is mostly caused by muscle overload.
Air conditioning and Joint pain
When an air conditioner is left on for a prolonged period of time, it lowers the temperature and causes the muscles to constrict due to coldness.
This is then extended to the joint when the supple tissue surrounding it expands and as a result, weakens the joint thereby causing pain which may spread out to the muscle, making them susceptible to cramps and other forms of muscle pain.
An air conditioner is not necessarily the primary cause of joint pain, but it can exacerbate the condition and pain management more difficult.
Why does AC make my joints hurt
It is genetic knowledge that AC affects the joint and the muscles in some ways, but little is known about the actual cause.
One of the likely theories that try to explain this mystery alludes that, when the room is cold as a result of low temperature, what is the remain of heat present in the body is directed to more vital organs of the body like the inner organs of the torso and the head which leaves the joint (considered as secondary life sustenance) exposed to coldness.
And that’s why we also tend to experience more acute pain when we exercise in cold weather too.
How to prevent joint pain in air conditioning room temperature
- Get rid of bacteria, molds, and every other allergin and find out the possible cause for their growth and address them to avoid recurrence.
- Ensure a routine maintenance practice for your air conditioner by cleaning and changing the filter once in while.
- Your air conditioner must be moderately set to a comfortable room temperature. That is try to achieve a balance between the outside temperature and the temperature in your room.
Amy Richter is an health expert in nutrition. She have a master’s degree in nutrition diagnostics and bachelor’s degree in dietetics.
