Arthritis - move to a warmer, drier, climate?
Arthritis - move to a warmer, drier, climate?
Author
Discussion

jmn

Original Poster:

1,079 posts

302 months

Wednesday 3rd December 2025
quotequote all
I'm just beginning to have minor arthritic symptoms.

There is some family history of arthritis.

Would moving overseas to a warmer drier climate delay the onset of more serious symptoms?

arfur

4,004 posts

236 months

Wednesday 3rd December 2025
quotequote all
jmn said:
I'm just beginning to have minor arthritic symptoms.

There is some family history of arthritis.

Would moving overseas to a warmer drier climate delay the onset of more serious symptoms?
My mother used to suffer from Arthritis for very many years. Whenever she was in Spain she felt much better ..

Not a scientific response, but that is what she always said

hth

Bill

56,944 posts

277 months

Wednesday 3rd December 2025
quotequote all
Maybe:

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10120534/

Or is it just easier to be active when the weather is better???

The_Doc

5,898 posts

242 months

Thursday 4th December 2025
quotequote all
The evidence is poor.

But it is generally accepted that pain correlates with happiness,. So go and live in a country that makes you happy.
Finland and Luxemberg are rich and make people happy, they would probably decrease your pain.
Spain has sangria. Saudi Arabia is very rich and hot, they don't have sangria.

Nothing really affects he onset of osteoarthritis beyond mild genetic factors, trauma to the knee (rugby injury, motorbike crash) and life use. Farmers and builders ruin their knees. The out of work often complain about their knees more.

If you moved to Florida and ran 3km 4 times a week, you would accelerate the end of your knee.
But 4 rounds of golf would probably do the opposite.

It isn't simple.

zbc

973 posts

173 months

Thursday 4th December 2025
quotequote all
The_Doc said:
The evidence is poor.

But it is generally accepted that pain correlates with happiness,. So go and live in a country that makes you happy.
Finland and Luxemberg are rich and make people happy, they would probably decrease your pain.
Spain has sangria. Saudi Arabia is very rich and hot, they don't have sangria.

Interestingly my arthritis started to become an issue when I lived briefly in Saudi Arabia and now I'm back in Luxembourg seems much better.

Badda

3,527 posts

104 months

Thursday 4th December 2025
quotequote all
zbc said:
Interestingly my arthritis started to become an issue when I lived briefly in Saudi Arabia and now I'm back in Luxembourg seems much better.
Maybe you got sand in it.

saveloy

145 posts

148 months

Thursday 4th December 2025
quotequote all
It won't stop it progressing. And it hurts.
If it's osteoarthritis, then there's no medication available to help. Rheumatoid & Psoriatic can be treated with Hydroxychloroquine & Methotrexate.
Talk to your Doctor, figure which one you have & start treatment (if possible) ASAP.

Kyri

blue_haddock

4,783 posts

89 months

Thursday 4th December 2025
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I have rheumatoid arthritis with secondary osteoarthritis. I definitely feel better when warmer even going on holiday to the Canaries over winter for a week i notice a difference but if your only having mild symptoms you may not feel as much as i do with much more pronounced arthritis.

I certainly wouldnt use it as the main reason for moving to a foreign country.

TheHeadhunter

11,214 posts

142 months

Friday 5th December 2025
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Again not very scientific, but my uncle and aunt both suffer with bad arthritis so bought a small place in Florida, initially to spend winter months at about 15years ago, but they now spend from October to May there, purely on the basis that their symptoms pretty much disappear when they are there, and don't really return when they are back in the UK, unless it's unseasonably cold.

RGG

965 posts

39 months

Friday 5th December 2025
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Pre Covid, we spent January to April in "northern" South Africa and Namibia -

Joint pain was much less compared to wintering in UK.