Does Weather Really Affect Joints?

You have either heard someone say it or have even experienced it yourself, a saying somewhere along the lines of, “This weather has got my joints aching”. The phrase is commonly heard and is commonly experienced by someone who has had an injury to a specific joint. Whether it be a change in temperature, sensitivity to a type of temperature, change in barometric pressure, or something else; weather has many different variables that could potentially play a role in causes of joint pain. However, the purpose of this blog is to determine if there is research revealing a correlation between weather and joint pain.

To begin, let it be known that creating research studies for these answers is difficult and research regarding this topic isn’t necessarily dense. Nonetheless, there is research that can be found. Such as an article titled, “Weather changes and pain: perceived influence of local climate on pain complaint in chronic pain patients”, which explained how the theory of living in a colder place will cause more pain, was not supported. However, there are articles reciprocating that statement in regards to weather being related to pain. An article published in the Journal of International Orthopaedics reports evidence supporting pain sensitivity being influenced by atmospheric pressure change and weather patterns. 

All in all, you might ask, what is the most common outcome that is reached with research regarding the topic of weather being related to joint pain? This answer is best summarized by an article whose purpose was to review the literature regarding weather’s relation to pain when it states, “Literature on the subject is sparse, conflicting, and vulnerable to bias, and further physiologic investigations are not likely to produce useful information. However, for patients who believe that weather can influence their pain, the causes may be unknown, but the effect is real”. Regardless of how the weather has you feeling, if you are experiencing any joint or musculoskeletal pain, come see us at Focus On Health so we can help you deal with whatever mother nature might throw at us! 

CITATIONS:

Quick D. C. (1997). Joint pain and weather. A critical review of the literature. Minnesota medicine, 80(3), 25–29.

Jamison, R. N., Anderson, K. O., & Slater, M. A. (1995). Weather changes and pain: perceived influence of local climate on pain complaint in chronic pain patients. Pain, 61(2), 309–315. https://doi.org/10.1016/0304-3959(94)00215-Z

Brennan, S. A., Harney, T., Queally, J. M., O'Connor McGoona, J., Gormley, I. C., & Shannon, F. J. (2012). Influence of weather variables on pain severity in end-stage osteoarthritis. International orthopaedics, 36(3), 643–646. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00264-011-1304-9