Rain or Shine:   Does weather play a significant role in pain symptoms?

Contributed by Dr. Peter Hrkal, Chiropractor

 

Regardless of the time of year, therapists will often hear their patient state that weather greatly affects and aggravates their pain symptoms. This is maybe even more so true in the fall, when patients will report that cooler, damp weather, cold fronts and decreasing daylight as particularly aggravating to any condition. At Healthwise we are obviously a physiotherapy and multidisciplinary clinic dealing primarily in musculoskeletal pain, so a relevant and interesting question is; what actual effect does weather play in pain and what does the research say? 

For starters, there is not a lot of strong research on this topic, and, as one could imagine, it would be quite difficult to factor in all possible variables of pain and weather. A quick example of this would be to think of in these terms: is patient X’s back pain worse because it has rained for 3 days straight or is it worse because, since it has been raining, patient X hasn’t gone for their daily walk, and has sat on the couch? 

Anyway, let’s take a look at one recent study from 2024, a systematic review/meta analysis study that collected articles related to the subject at hand. This review looked at patients’ self-reported levels of pain relating to certain weather changes; namely temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, precipitation and wind speed. Here is a quote from the study citing their conclusions:

“Even though patients frequently comment on how weather changes trigger their musculoskeletal pain and other symptoms, this review concluded that weather has not been shown to be significant risk for knee, hip, low back pain, or headache exacerbation, however it did have a small impact in exacerbating the symptoms of gout.” 

Really? What a letdown right! Remember above how I explained it’s quite difficult to isolate strictly pain and weather without considering all the other variables. Sometimes certain topics are more challenging to prove using scientific research methods than others. Can patients be wrong about weather affecting their pain? Not so fast, I think there is a lot more to consider. Here are 5 things I have found to be true from experience and observation as a Chiropractor.

1. Pain is a very personal experience. One person’s 2/10 pain is another person’s 9/10. Weather changes (as I demonstrated above with the rain and activity level example earlier) can significantly impact other parts of our life and therefore, indirectly impact our pain. I think patients should try and see what other factors are associated with weather changes and their pain. I.E. Do you wear poor footwear in bad weather vs. good weather (or vice versa) 
2. Similar to point 1, weather plays a huge role in people’s mood and mood can obviously affect pain levels, energy, outlook etc. I know the shortening of daylight in autumn is always a challenge on people’s moods. Additionally, things like natural vitamin D production in the body drop with less sunlight during these times and that can play a role in pain also. 
3. Perception is reality, and not necessarily in a good way. If patients think that weather is going to affect them, well, it just might. This can be a bit of a self fulfilling prophecy type effect. 
4. Our clinic is still busy on sunny, mild and calm days. Even on picture perfect weather days, our clinic is still busy with patients who have all the same pain flare ups and aggravations, and in those cases, no one is blaming it on ‘good weather’. 
5. A lot of people do retire to Florida and Arizona. Scientific research or not, elderly people as an example, who often have pain syndromes like osteoarthritis, sometimes find relief by moving to warmer climates. Again, could this be that ‘good weather’ helps their pain, or does good weather allow them to stay active, swim, hike, bike etcetera? 

In conclusion: Too often as a Chiropractor I’ve heard patients relating their pain worsening with poor weather, especially certain types of headaches. I truly think there is a correlation between weather and pain but maybe it is not in a simple cause and effect way. Next time you find yourself saying or thinking “the weather is making my pain worse”, try to also observe what other changes are going on in your life and daily routine in those stretches of time. 

Ferreira ML, Hunter DJ, Fu A, Raihana S, Urquhart D, Ferreira PH. Come rain or shine: Is weather a risk factor for musculoskeletal pain? A systematic review with meta-analysis of case-crossover studies. Semin Arthritis Rheum. 2024 Apr;65:152392. doi: 10.1016/j.semarthrit.2024.152392. Epub 2024 Jan 28. PMID: 38340613.