Many people have probably heard their elderly family members or friends complain about their knees hurting on rainy days or when the temperature drops below normal. However, when researchers actually investigated the relationship between weather and back pain or knee pain, they found that there was in fact almost no relationship.
Come rain or shine: Is weather a risk factor for musculoskeletal pain? A systematic review with meta-analysis of case-crossover studies - ScienceDirect
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0049017224000337
No, your aches and pains don't get worse in the cold. So why do we think they do?
https://theconversation.com/no-your-aches-and-pains-dont-get-worse-in-the-cold-so-why-do-we-think-they-do-235117
The weather has nothing to do with pain
In this study, Manuela L. Ferreira and her colleagues, who study musculoskeletal health at the University of Sydney in Australia, conducted a meta-analysis to examine papers that examined the association between symptoms of musculoskeletal diseases such as low back pain, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, and osteoarthritis (OA) and meteorological conditions such as temperature, precipitation, air pressure, and relative humidity.
The 11 papers used in the analysis contained a total of 28,010 pieces of data collected from 15,315 patients.
The data examined the relationship between joint and muscle pain and weather conditions and found that changes in temperature, humidity, air pressure and rainfall did not increase the risk of symptoms such as knee, hip or lower back pain, or the number of people seeking new treatment for arthritis.
This means there is no direct relationship between weather and joint or muscle pain, and weather cannot cause arthritis.
It should be noted that the data analyzed does not include records of low temperatures below 10 degrees, so the relationship with extreme temperatures is unclear.
The only exception was gout, which tended to be worse on hot, dry days rather than on cold days.
Gout
causes pain when the concentration of uric acid in the blood increases and crystallizes in the joints, which is a different mechanism from back pain or arthritis.
For this reason, Ferreira and his team point out that dehydration caused by heat and dryness can increase the concentration of uric acid in the blood, which can worsen gout.
◆Why is it said that cold causes joint pain?
Although research has shown no connection between weather and joint pain, many people are convinced that there is a link between the weather and pain, and
surveys have shown that two out of three people with OA of the knees, hips, or hands report that cold weather triggers their symptoms.
Ferreira speculates that weather may indirectly affect how individuals perceive and behave around pain by influencing other factors in their lives.
For example, people often refrain from exercise and stay indoors during the winter, but research has shown that sitting for long periods of time can worsen back pain. Changes in temperature can also lead to poor sleep quality, which can trigger back or knee pain, and cold weather can cause mood changes that manifest as physical pain.
'In essence, it's the changes in behavior during winter that are causing the increase in pain, not the weather itself,' Ferreira concluded.
Furthermore, believing that 'my body hurts in the winter' can actually make the pain feel worse. In contrast to the 'placebo effect,' in which symptoms improve through belief, the phenomenon in which symptoms actually worsen due to the belief that something has a negative effect is called the ' nocebo effect .'
Methods for dealing with pain
'If you find that your pain gets worse when the weather cools down, it's best to focus on improving the factors you can control, rather than risk factors outside of your control, like the weather,' advises Ferreira.
Some specific examples are as follows.
Move more by taking walks or other physical activities, or ask your doctor about exercises you can do safely and comfortably, either with the help of a physical therapist or trainer or at home.
- If you are overweight and putting strain on your joints, lose weight.
If you feel your muscles are stiff because of the cold, warm up your body. If your bedroom is cold, warm it up to improve the quality of your sleep.
- Maintain a healthy diet and avoid excessive smoking and drinking.
Various studies have confirmed that making these lifestyle changes can help better manage joint and musculoskeletal symptoms.
