Does the Weather Affect Your Arthritis Joint Pain?

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Does the Weather Affect Your Arthritis Joint Pain?

Written by Seeds, MD, Ashtabula, Ohio

As an orthopaedic surgeon with a busy joint-replacement practice along

the Great Lakes, I have become interested in how the weather and

barometric pressure affect my arthritis patients' joint pain. I

practice next to Lake Erie in Ashtabula County, Ohio. Lake Erie is

known to have the greatest fluctuations in weather of all the Great

Lakes.

400 B.C., Hippocrates -- the Greek " Father of Medicine " - wrote in his

book " On Airs, Waters and Places, " that human ailments may be related

to weather. For more than 2000 years since then we have been trying to

prove this relationship. Still, the medical opinion is divided. I can't

ignore this relationship because my patients continually tell me the

weather is affecting their achy joints. In fact, many of my patients

with healed bone fractures also complain of achy bones that they

associate with fluctuations in the weather.

Tracking Barometric Pressure and Arthritis Pain

So, armed with the Web page that hosts the local weather forecasts and

present weather conditions, I have reached similar informal conclusions

that other researchers have claimed. I have seen decreases in

barometric pressure increase pain in my degenerative arthritic patient

population. And rapid decreases in barometric pressure seem to make it

more difficult for these patients to cope with daily activities. On the

flip side, I have also seen increases in barometric pressure cause

increased pain in my patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

We know that a decrease in the barometric pressure decreases the wall

tension in an arterial vessel, which allows the vessel to expand. It is

believed that this vascular expansion has some contribution to the pain

experienced in degenerative arthritis. Along Lake Erie, where winds can

suddenly converge and bring on low-pressure changes, the barometric

pressure can decrease rapidly, and my patients waste no time letting me

know.

Patients become Weather-Watchers

Certainly, the research must be examined, and we must continue to

search for answers on a scientific basis. I will continue to carefully

listen to my patients despite the fact that it's been 2000 years and we

don't have all the answers. My patients are getting pretty good at

predicting the weather, and in combination with the local-weather Web

page, I have my patients keep an eye on the forecast. They prepare by

possibly taking a few extra-strength Tylenol or non-steroidal

anti-inflammatory medications that I have prescribed. I believe this is

helping my patients cope better with their arthritis. And now my

patients are more involved in their preventive heath care, which is

also a very positive step.

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