Many people with arthritis say that joint pain gets worse when the weather changes.
However, major research shows that the relationship may be more complicated than thought and that humidity, especially in combination with cold weather, can play a role more important than the only temperature.
A University of Manchester study, conducted in 2016 with more than 13 thousand participants in the United Kingdom, examined daily data on pain and weather conditions.
The results showed that high humidity was related to more pain, while low atmospheric pressure and strong winds also had a smaller link. The low temperature taken separately showed no clear connection to the pain throughout the group.
According to research director Will Dixon, the combination of high humidity, wind and low atmospheric pressure was linked to an increase of about 20% of the opportunity to experience severe pain compared to an average day.
However, the overall impact was modest, and the results do not mean that all arthritic people respond equally to the weather.
Another study by Harvard Medical School examined more than 11 million visits to doctors from elderly Americans.
Researchers found no increase in visits for painful joints or backs during rainy weeks. However, the analysis largely examined rainfall and did not include all the elements, so it does not rule out the possibility that moisture or other conditions affect some people.
A European study of 810 adults with osteoarter also revealed links between humidity and pain, especially when the weather was relatively cold.
However, the exact mechanism has not yet been fully understood, and studies do not prove that weather changes are the direct cause of pain. /Telegraphy/