Patients often describe nerve pain (neuropathic pain) as a burning, electric, stabbing, buzzing, or icy-hot sensation. It commonly shows up with:
Spending long hours in one position, poor sleep, stress, certain movements, and, for many people, cold weather can all trigger flare-ups. Lower temperatures change how nerves fire, tighten muscles and blood vessels, and intensify sensitivity in already irritable pathways.
You don’t have to brace yourself and hope for the best each winter. Seeing a pain specialist before the cold sets in confirms what’s aggravating your symptoms and allows us to set up a plan to help you manage your pain through the holidays.
At SEPA Pain & Spine in southeastern Pennsylvania, our team evaluates the cause of your nerve pain and tailors your treatment, so you’re not just coping, you’re improving.
In this blog, we cover why cold increases nerve pain, what helps at home, the medical options for you to consider, and how to prepare for winter.
Cold changes the body in a few ways. First, it narrows blood vessels in the skin and extremities to conserve heat. Less blood flow can bother already sensitive nerves, especially in your hands and feet, because oxygen delivery slows and waste products clear more slowly. That alone can make tingling, burning, or shocks feel stronger.
Second, cold prompts muscle guarding. Tight muscles around your neck, shoulders, lower back, or hips can squeeze nerves as they pass through narrow spaces. If you already have a pinched nerve in your neck or lower back (cervical or lumbar radiculopathy), that extra tension is often enough to trigger a flare-up.
Third, temperature shifts affect nerve membranes and ion channels — the gates that help nerves send electrical signals. Cooler tissues can make these gates misbehave, so irritated nerves fire more easily in response to minor inputs.
If you’re dealing with exacerbated nerve pain during the winter, here are some ways to stay comfortable at home:
Keep your neck, lower back, and feet warm with breathable layers instead of bulky, sweaty ones. A heating pad or warm shower before any activity relaxes your muscles; follow it with a few minutes of slow movement. For hands and feet, brief warm-water soaks help.
Being sedentary for long stretches sensitizes nerves. Set a timer for every 45–60 minutes and stand, pace in a hallway, or do one minute of gentle movement such as neck rotations, shoulder rolls, pelvic tilts, or ankle circles.
Short, frequent breaks beat one long workout after 10 hours of sitting.
Keep your wrists neutral and your elbows close to your sides when using the keyboard. For sciatica, sit with your hips slightly above your knees and your feet supported; when standing up, hinge at the hips instead of rounding your back.
Dry winter air dehydrates, and drinking water regularly helps your nerves and muscles function well. Having a consistent bedtime, sleeping in a darker room, and a 30-minute wind-down off screens will ensure you sleep better and make pain easier to manage.
Home strategies help, but the biggest improvements often come from pairing them with targeted medical care. At SEPA Pain & Spine, we start by identifying the source of your nerve pain. Is it a compressed root in your spine, a peripheral nerve entrapment, or a metabolic issue?
Neuropathic agents (such as SNRIs, gabapentinoids, or low-dose tricyclics) ease overactive firing nerves. If a swollen nerve root is the cause, an epidural steroid injection can reduce inflammation, often providing months of relief so you can rebuild strength and mobility.
For focal peripheral pain, selective nerve blocks both confirm the diagnosis and ease symptoms.
If the pain persists, radiofrequency ablation can help. For severe, chronic neuropathic pain that resists other care, neuromodulation (such as spinal cord stimulation) can change how your body processes pain signals.
Physical therapy focused on nerve gliding, core stability, and posture retraining supports the results of any procedure and makes winter activities more comfortable.
Cold weather can worsen nerve pain by reducing blood flow, and triggering muscle guarding and more reactive nerve signaling. Warmth, movement, improved ergonomics, sleep, and hydration lower your reactivity.
