Weather pains, weather-related pain, or meteoropathy is a phenomenon that occurs when people with conditions such as

arthritis Arthritis is a general medical term used to describe a disorder that affects joints. Symptoms generally include joint pain and stiffness. Other symptoms may include redness, warmth, Joint effusion, swelling, and decreased range of motion of ...

or limb injuries claim to feel pain, particularly with changes in

barometric pressure Atmospheric pressure, also known as air pressure or barometric pressure (after the barometer), is the pressure within the atmosphere of Earth. The standard atmosphere (symbol: atm) is a unit of pressure defined as , which is equivalent to 1,013.2 ...

humidity Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation (meteorology), precipitation, dew, or fog t ...

or other weather phenomena.

Scientific evidence Scientific evidence is evidence that serves to either support or counter a scientific theory or hypothesis, although scientists also use evidence in other ways, such as when applying theories to practical problems. "Discussions about empirical ev ...

, however, does not support a connection between weather and pain, and concludes that it is largely or entirely due to perceptual errors such as

confirmation bias Confirmation bias (also confirmatory bias, myside bias, or congeniality bias) is the tendency to search for, interpret, favor and recall information in a way that confirms or supports one's prior beliefs or Value (ethics and social sciences), val ...

, with the possible exception being headaches and migraines.

Historic beliefs

A hypothetical relationship between changes in weather and pain has been documented since the classical Roman age, with

Hippocrates Hippocrates of Kos (; ; ), also known as Hippocrates II, was a Greek physician and philosopher of the Classical Greece, classical period who is considered one of the most outstanding figures in the history of medicine. He is traditionally referr ...

in about 400 B.C. perhaps being the first to claim a connection. Anecdotal evidence provided by people such as

Monica Seles Monica Seles (born December 2, 1973) is a Serbian–American former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the List of WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for ...

and widely used expressions such as "aches and pain, coming rains", "feeling under the weather", and "ill health due to evil winds" reinforce the popular opinion that this effect is real, despite the lack of

scientific evidence Scientific evidence is evidence that serves to either support or counter a scientific theory or hypothesis, although scientists also use evidence in other ways, such as when applying theories to practical problems. "Discussions about empirical ev ...

supporting this contention.

Scientific evaluation

The first publication to document a change in pain perception associated with the weather was the ''American Journal of the Medical Sciences'' in 1887. This involved a single case report describing a person with

phantom limb A phantom limb is the sensation that an amputated or missing limb is still attached. It is a chronic condition that is often resistant to treatment. When the cut ends of sensory fibres are stimulated during thigh movements, the patient feels as ...

pain, and it concluded that "approaching storms, dropping barometric pressure and rain were associated with increased pain complaint." Most investigations examining the relationship between weather and pain have studied people diagnosed with

. After reviewing many case reports, Rentshler reported in the ''Journal of the American Medical Association'' in 1929 that there was strong evidence that "warm weather is beneficial and

changes are detrimental to patients with arthritis." Countering the 1929 barometric pressure claim, in a 2016 article entitled "Do Your Aches, Pains Predict Rain?" professor of atmospheric sciences Dennis Driscoll is reported as stating: "People need to realize that the pressure changes associated with storms are rather small." Driscoll observes that the changes associated with a storm are about equivalent to what a person experiences in going up an elevator in a tall building. So far, there have not been many reports of people with arthritis hobbled by elevator rides in the medical literature. A study published in the ''

British Medical Journal ''The BMJ'' is a fortnightly peer-reviewed medical journal, published by BMJ Publishing Group Ltd, which in turn is wholly-owned by the British Medical Association (BMA). ''The BMJ'' has editorial freedom from the BMA. It is one of the world ...

'' in 2017 examined reports of joint or back pain from millions of doctor visits between 2008 and 2012 as recorded by Medicare, the U.S. health system for the elderly. It compared these to rain data as recorded by the

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA ) is an American scientific and regulatory agency charged with Weather forecasting, forecasting weather, monitoring oceanic and atmospheric conditions, Hydrography, charting the seas, ...

, but found no correlation at all. The study concluded that: According to the

Mayo clinic Mayo Clinic () is a Nonprofit organization, private American Academic health science centre, academic Medical centers in the United States, medical center focused on integrated health care, healthcare, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science ...

, migraines may be triggered by certain changes in the weather. The

NHS The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...

says "...weather changes are thought to trigger chemical and electrical changes in the brain. This irritates nerves, leading to a headache." A 2023 study published in the journal of the American Headache Society found that "low barometric pressure, barometric pressure changes, higher humidity, and rainfall were associated with an increased number of headache occurrences".

External links

References

{{reflist Weather and health Biometeorology

Historic beliefs

Scientific evaluation

External links

See also

References