Everyone's Health

Barometric pressure and joint pain

Barometric pressure is the force of the atmosphere pushing down at a particular location. Pressure is higher where air is slowly descending and lower where it is slowly rising. Low pressure often brings precipitation because air cools as it rises, and the moisture in it condenses. High pressure is usually associated with clear weather, because the warming of air as it descends hampers the formation of clouds.

In addition, atmospheric pressure is lower at higher elevations because there are fewer air molecules. On weather maps, air pressure is adjusted to factor out altitude. This adjustment reveals the more subtle differences in pressure associated with movements of air that influence weather conditions.

The belief that weather and physical well being are linked is long standing. Hippocrates, a Greek physician known as the Father of Medicine, wrote about it in the fifth century. “Wind wet” is the literal translation of the Chinese characters for rheumatism.

The majority of modern patients with joint inflammation also report that their condition is affected by weather. Some claim that the aches in their joints provide an accurate weather forecast. There may be some truth to this, but researchers are still puzzling over the exact relationship between weather and joint ailments.

For example, according to some studies, patients' joint symptoms flare up when barometric pressure is higher. Other studies have found the exact opposite. Still other studies suggest joint pain is only worsened when the pressure changes. Cold weather was also typically found to aggravate symptoms, as was increased humidity. Some studies have found that decreased sunlight and increased wind speed worsen symptoms.

Several possible mechanisms could account for the effects of weather on pain. Changes in temperature or pressure could make nerve endings more sensitive. Alternatively, because ligaments, tendons, bones, muscles and scar tissue are all different densities, atmospheric changes could cause pain by contracting and expanding these tissues differently. Weather patterns also affect mood in some people, which can alter pain perception.

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