Is weather a risk factor for musculoskeletal pain?

Have you ever had a patient tell you they have a headache (or some other ache or pain) that is exacerbated by changes in the weather? I think most chiropractors and other clinicians have had this experience…this paper helps us understand what we know about this relationship.

Weather changes have been shown to be associated with an increased risk of various health conditions. Examples include increased morbidity due to arrhythmias, cardiac arrest, and coronary heart disease following temperature increases, and increased risk of cardiovascular, respiratory, vascular and cancer mortality associated with higher concentrations of air pollution.

Patients with musculoskeletal conditions often report that weather changes triggered the onset and/or exacerbated their symptoms, with one study reporting that ~2/3 of participants with osteoarthritis perceived that weather affected their pain. Research on this topic is inconsistent, however, as reported in a recent review that included 43 observational studies on the association between weather and self-reported musculoskeletal pain. The review did not provide a convincing answer regarding the nature nor magnitude of the association between weather parameters and musculoskeletal pain, because the included studies were mostly small, had short follow-up, participants were not blinded to the research question, and important outcomes, such as disability, health care use, and medication use were not considered.

This systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to address the limitations of previous reviews and provide better estimates of the effect of weather on people with musculoskeletal conditions.

RESEARCH REVIEW: Influence of Weather on Musculoskeletal Pain

This paper was published in Seminars in Arthritis and Rheumatism (2024)

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