That’s a photo of me freezing in Iceland. This last week in Sydney hasn’t been too much better. We often hear people tell us their arthritis pain worsens with the cold. Others say their pain is worse with the rain. But is this merely an old wives tale or is there something to it?
A 2015 study with 810 participants found “a significant interaction between daily average humidity and temperature on joint pain”. They also found “the effect of humidity on pain was stronger in relatively cold weather conditions”. So, this large study found that cold and humidity contributes to arthritis pain but there are also decent studies that contradict this.
If there is a relationship between weather and pain, is the weather directly causing arthritis pain or is it merely a correlation caused by another related factor? Any true causal effect between weather and pain is going to be exacerbated by people having a flatter mood, caused by the depressing weather. A drop in mood can greatly affect pain perception. Pain levels are also worsened by the inactivity resulting from decreased outdoor exercise. So weather may be only influencing pain indirectly via mood and exercise responses or perhaps it’s both directly and indirectly.
There is another weather factor that causes increases in pain – barometric pressure. It appears barometric pressure is associated with increased arthritis pain. Pain is worse with low pressure systems. While this could be due to the weather these systems produce, there is also a theory that decreased atmospheric pressure causes anatomical structures to swell making them more sensitive.
So there you go, arthritis pain caused by the cold might not be an old wives tale after all!
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26329341
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17466654
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Scott Leabeater - Principal Chiropractor
Most people come in because they're in pain. Some have just hurt themselves, some have seen other practitioners without success, and some have just moved to the area. Either way, they want to understand why it hurts, and they want to fix it.
When new patients come in, we discuss how the pain started and what it's stopping you doing. I examine the injury and anything nearby that might be contributing, then explain what I think is happening in plain English, including how long it should take to settle. Unless you need a scan first, treatment starts that day.
Since opening The Backstory in Caringbah in 2017, I've treated everyone from local office workers to Olympic athletes. The approach is the same for all of them: take the time, find the cause, and give you a plan you can actually stick to.
Bachelor of Chiropractic Science and Master of Chiropractic, Macquarie University · International Sports Chiropractic Certification · SOT · GEMT
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