Many people feel that the weather affects their chronic joint pain. Arthritis in particular is associated with changes in the weather, with some claiming they can tell when a storm is coming from twinges in their knees.
A new meta-study in Pain, the journal of the International Association for the Study of Pain, explores the science behind such anecdotes. Researchers from the University of Manchester pulled together and compared results from approximately 4,000 previous studies.
They found that 63% of studies reported a correlation between weather and chronic pain. This sounds quite definite but the actual findings varied wildly. For example, some found a connection with only one aspect of weather (such as high temperature), or with one type of condition (osteoarthritis and not rheumatoid arthritis) while others found very different correlations.
The only definite and consistent result was that wind direction does not influence pain; no other positive finding emerged from the mass of data. “It has not been possible to reach a robust conclusion to the age-old question whether the weather influences pain,” the study concludes.
The authors say better-quality studies are needed, with large sample sizes, consistent ways of reporting pain and rigorous statistical analysis. If there is any connection between joint pain and weather, it remains as elusive as ever.
