People have probably been complaining about their aches and pains since the beginning of language. We all experience issues, but there seem to be certain things that seem to set them off, specifically the weather. But now a new study is trying to tell us that we've all be duped. The rain has nothing to do with it, at least according to their findings.
The study was conducted by Dr. Anupam Jena. He wanted to see if there actually was a connection between joint pain and rainy days, like we all claim there is. You've always heard people say that they can feel the weather changes in their bones, but are they just making it up? Jena's study evaluated doctor visits in relation to weather and what he found will leave you scratching your head.
Jena was able to collect data from over 3,000 weather stations and compare it to the doctors office's billing numbers on joint point. It seems like a no-brainer right? Well, not according to him! "No matter how you analyze the data, you don't see a relationship," Jena claimed.
He doesn't claim that there is no pain on the rainy days, but that the correlation doesn't actually prove that they are related. "Pain is pain," he said."If you're feeling pain on a rainy day, it maybe doesn't matter if the rain caused the pain. Human beings have a tendency to perceive patterns where patterns don't exist."
This study goes against what we have all thought for our whole lives! But, as with any study there were limitations that might mean it's not a clear picture. For example, there was another study completed in 2014 that found the exact opposite, and even explained why it's possible for the rain to affect your body...
While this study relies heavily on anecdotal evidence instead of medical data, it found that two-thirds of people living with chronic pain experience more intense symptoms when there are weather changes. Dr. Steven Graff-Radford, Cedar Sinai Medical Cetner, believes that the barometric pressure changes can impact the way your brain blocks pain, causing you to feel worse.
Headaches are a common addition when the barometic pressure changes, while colder temperatures are hard on the muscles.
Arthritis is another huge concern when it comes to the weather. Dr. James Gladstone, co-director of sports medicine at the Mount Sinai Hospital, explained how it impacts your body. "Arthritis affects everything else within the joint itself, including the joint lining, which we call the synovium, as well as the ligaments that are within the joint," he said. "All of those tissues have nerve endings in them, so they're going to feel changes in the weather as tightness in the joint, or stiffness."
He suggested to help ease the pain you should always make sure to warm your muscles up properly, and wear protective clothing so you don't get too cold.