Plummeting temperatures, frozen lakes, and chilly mornings can only mean one thing: winter has arrived. For some, this conjures up memories of pearly-white fields, crackling fireplaces and Christmas feasts; for other, stinging cold and painful joints.

The winter season can be particularly hard on already sensitive joints, often making them stiff and painful. Typically, men and women suffer from joint stiffness after they reach the age of 50, often losing flexible mobility and range in their joint functioning, making daily actions such as walking or picking up objects rather painful. To prepare yourself for winters cold, some of the leading osteopaths share a few of their tips on how to maintain flexible joints in the upcoming months:

MALE-SPECIFIC TIPS

- Avoid lifting heavy objects as much as possible

- Take care when carrying heavy loads on your back or shoulders " you do not want to put too much pressure on your knee joints.

TIPS FOR WOMEN

- Avoid wearing heels higher than 4cm; this prevents further injury to the back, knees, and ankles.

- Carry lighter handbags; heavy handbags can be damaging to your joints in the long run.

ADVICE FOR BOTH GENDERS

- Cover up your joints when going outside. Wear knee socks or stockings under your trousers, long gloves that cover the wrists, and so on.

- Take a warm bath or shower after spending extensive time in the cold. This, along with underwater exercises, should loosen up your joints.

- Follow a regular exercise routine that test the range and mobility of your joints. But know your limits " stop when things become too painful.

- Get the right nutrition and regulate your weight " this not only keeps the joints healthy, but the lighter you are, the less pressure is exerted over your joints.

- Sleeping on a firm mattress is strongly advised for everyone " not just people with back or shoulder problems. While there is no universal ideal mattress, choosing the right mattress for you is not only important to getting enough sleep every night, but essential to preventing morning joint-stiffness.

- Use assistive devices such as supportive straps (these are available for knees, ankles, wrists, and others) on the weakest joints if you are suffering from (early symptoms of) arthritis.

HOW OSTEOPATHS CAN HELP

Osteopaths can help you identify and deal with anything from severe back problems to joint stiffness. Joint pains can often be symptoms of either Osteoarthritis or Rheumatoid Arthritis, so it is essential to be aware of this early on to prevent the symptoms from getting worse in the future. Through a combination of massages, exercises and therapeutic techniques, osteopaths are able to use their expert knowledge of the skeletal-muscular system to your advantage, and can help set up a treatment plan that suits your specific circumstances.

A lot of the tips above are not just specific to the winter season, but with sub-zero temperatures, it is important to take extra caution to protect your sensitive joints. But as long as you keep them warm and mobile, there is no reason why your joints should cause you problems this winter.