Growing up, there was always that one person – maybe your grandmother, an elder at the church, or an older teacher – that would swear they could tell when it was supposed to rain because her joints hurt. As a kid, I always brushed that off. No way, right?
Now, with arthritis pain in a variety of joints, I realize that they weren’t wrong! The weather really can affect arthritis pain. Pain relief arthritis seems so far away on these rainy spring days, but it doesn’t have to be that way!
Perhaps you have a friend with arthritis that thinks you’re crazy when you speak about how your pain flares up during bad weather. Don’t worry, you’re not – some people seeking pain relief arthritis during bad weather are simply just more sensitive to it.
An actual, scientific study was done to back you up, too. In 2014 over 700 people suffering from osteoarthritis were asked how the changing weather influenced their pain. Much to the researcher’s surprise, over 65% said that the weather did change their pain levels.
A similar study in 2011 also found those suffering from rheumatoid arthritis had similar results. In the study, published in the European Journal of Pain (fun title), the conclusion stated that “…pain in some individuals is more affected by the weather than in others, and that patients react in different ways to the weather.”
This is very telling, and you should feel less alone when you’re going through a bad storm and searching endlessly for pain relief arthritis medication or solutions.
If you’re exceptionally weather-sensitive you probably already know this, but cold, wet weather is the absolute worst when you’re struggling to find pain relief arthritis methods that work for you.
This means that a cold spring rain, or the first chill in autumn, is probably going to have you suffering the most. While there is no solid scientific reason for it, it is believed that the change in barometric pressure is what is affecting arthritis pain levels.
It isn’t the actual barometric pressure. If it were, you would always be in more pain during the winter, or less pain in the summer. Instead, it’s the jump in air pressure that is causing you to reach for your pain relief arthritis choices.
There were two major studies done on arthritis pain and weather in 2015 – one looked at people with rheumatoid arthritis, and another with those suffering from osteoarthritis. The results were that the effect of humidity on pain was stronger when the weather was older. Or, that you hurt more when it gets colder.
Suffering from RA also reported that they had less pain and less swelling on sunny, dry days.
Before you start feeling like you’re falling apart or getting worried about your arthritis getting worse, consider the weather. If it’s a cold, rainy day, reaching for your pain relief arthritis medication or wraps isn’t a bad idea, but don’t feel like it’s going to be this way forever.
Once the weather passes, you could start feeling better, after all!
