Scientists and researchers alike agree that pain worsens with colder weather conditions, but could your pain actually predict the weather? On sunny days your pain may be excruciating and sure enough, it rains the following day. One of the longest controversies in medicine is weather conditions and the aggravating affects of physical pain.
In 400 B.C., Hippocrates noticed and hypothesized seasonal illnesses. The Chinese term for rheumatism translates to “wind-damp disease.” However, modern research shows inconclusive and inconsistent results matching weather patterns to reported pain. The inconsistency has left some people to dismiss the relationship at all and chalk it up to physiological misunderstandings.
Amos Tversky, a late Stanford psychologist in the mid-1990s, said, “People’s beliefs about arthritis pain and the weather may tell more about the workings of the mind than of the body.” Tversky studied 18 rheumatoid arthritis patients for a year and found no connection to their symptoms and weather conditions.
Tversky’s study is only one of thousands, with other linking temperature changes, humidity, and/or barometric pressure to increased pain including osteoarthritis, headaches, jaw pain, scar pain, low back pain, fibromyalgia, neuralgia, gout, and phantom limb pain.
One of the only holding theories for this matter is that decreased barometric pressure that precedes a storm alters the pressure in the joints. The space between the bones, which is held together by tendons and ligaments, is surrounded by fluid and trapped gas. When the pressure drops, the joint expands and presses against surrounding nerves and tissues.
Weather changes will not affect pain for everyone with arthritis. Patience White, a George Washing University School of Medicine rheumatologist, says “It’s much more common in people with some sort of effusion.” An effusion is an excess of fluid in the joint.
The Weather Channel and other weather sources are able to calculate the likelihood of aches and pains across the country, based on barometric pressure, temperature, humidity, and wind. These weather conditions are where doctors see the most reported pain setbacks.
A study conducted in Belgium, examined 16,000 individuals for a year. The research showed that cold weather increased the risk of stroke, heart attacks, and sudden cardiac death. For every 18 degrees Fahrenheit, heart attack rose by 7 percent.
Southwest Spine and Pain Center specialists work diligently to report on the latest news in pain care. We recommend chronic pain patients take extra precaution this winter to stay warm and pain free. To find out more on weather and pain symptom changes, contact a Southwest Spine and Pain Center staff member today.
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The advice and information contained in this article is for educational purposes only, and is not intended to replace or counter a physician’s advice or judgment. Please always consult your physician before taking any advice learned here or in any other educational medical material.
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