Highly respected Fashion & beauty editor of BT.com, Carla Challis, wrote this extremely helpful advice to help us all avoid the winter blues.

With one in five adults in the UK suffering from arthritis, joint aches and pains are becoming something we are all too familiar with.

The arrival of colder, wintry weather often causes conditions like osteoporosis, back pain and joint pain to flare up, leaving sufferers experiencing severe pain and discomfort.

But rather than popping pills, we’ve found some more unusual, alternative approaches that can help you banish those aches and pains once and for all.

Go on, give them a try…

• Regular exercise… Stick to low-impact activities that won’t put too much strain on the joints. This can increase flexibility and strengthen the muscles that support the knee. A great easy-to-do activity is Nordic Walking which can help shift pressure from joints to strong muscles, reducing arthritis pain.
• Magnetic therapy… Magnetic therapy is believed to work by increasing blood flow and oxygen to pain-affected areas of the body, thereby relieving your joint aches.
• Try a Trion:Z bracelet, a Class 1 Medical Device that combines high-gauss magnets with negative ions to promote wellness and optimum performance.
• Warm bath… Having a warm bath can help relieve the stiffness and pain of arthritis and other joint-related conditions; long hot showers are recommended too!
• Meditation… This, along with other relaxation techniques, can help reduce stress hormone levels in your body and lower the amount of pain you perceive.

Some meditation can also teach your brain to focus on other things rather than the pain.