Stop blaming the weather!
YOUR granny will swear blind that the old wives’ tale is true – but it appears that joints do not ache on damp days after all.
Experts have finally established that changes in the weather have nothing to do with pain. Sufferers are simply more likely to notice symptoms when they’re stuck indoors on rainy days, they concluded.
Experts at the University of Sydney tracked 1 326 people with lower back pain or arthritis in their knees, and matched symptoms to weather data. They tracked temperature, humidity, air pressure, rainfall, wind speed, wind direction and gusts – but found nothing that corresponded to people’s symptoms.
Professor Chris Maher of the George Institute for Global Health in Sydney said: “The belief that pain and inclement weather are linked dates back to Roman times. But our research suggests this belief may be based on the fact that people recall events that confirm their pre-existing views. Human beings are very susceptible so it’s easy to see why we might only take note of pain on the days when it’s cold and rainy outside, but discount days when they have symptoms but the weather is mild and sunny.”
A total of 981 people with lower back pain and 345 people with knee osteoarthritis were recruited for two linked studies.
Weather data was sourced from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology.
Researchers compared the weather at the time patients first noticed pain with weather conditions one week and one month before the onset of pain as a control measure.
Higher temperatures did slightly increase the chances of lower back pain, but the size of the increase was not clinically important.
Otherwise, there was no link between weather and symptoms.
Maher said his early research had received criticism because people refused to believe it.
So his team decided to conduct a major study to prove it was true. – Daily Mail