Why does rainy weather cause joint pain

Reporting is also key here, as it may be the reason people conclude what appears to be a direct connection of weather to their specific type of pain. Some studies include data pointing to patients seeking care for certain types of pain during rainy weather. If damp cold weather exacerbates pain, you may wonder — why not move to where the weather is milder, warmer or dryer? In the U. Bolash recommends:. Stay limber — Stretching regularly and doing yoga are great ways to increase flexibility and maintain joint health.

Building muscle may also help. But when it's cold or rainy, you might just want to curl up in bed all day. Staying in on one lousy day might not make a huge difference, especially if you have a milder case of arthritis.

However, longer stretches of bad weather where you don't get enough physical activity can start to make pain worse. Arthritis pain and emotions are connected. When you're happier, you tend to have less pain, and vice versa. If you have clinical depression — a diagnosable condition where you have depressive symptoms like a sad mood or loss of interest for longer than 2 weeks — you're even more likely to have your emotions and mood affect your pain levels.

It's common for the weather to affect your mood. Rainy days can put you in a gloomy funk, while sunny days can put a smile on your face. For some people, it's a little more severe. Seasonal affective disorder SAD is a specific type of depression that comes and goes with the seasons. Depression usually begins in late fall or early winter and goes away during spring and summer. It's not extremely common, but it's not uncommon, either. It doesn't matter if you have SAD or are sad — bad weather can cause a bad mood, which can increase pain.

And nice weather can make you happy, causing less pain. There is something else that's very important to keep in mind regarding the weather and arthritis: flu season. Flu season is typically considered to last from early fall through late winter or early spring. It tends to peak in the US between December and February.

The flu and arthritis are linked in several ways:. So I wish I could find and answer why. Or even help someone else find out why. LOL I wish everyone the best of luck! Windy conditions wreck me. Extreme temps, hot or cold, hurt. When the barometer is low, my sore places feel better. When the pressure is rising, they feel worse. I believe it is that joint capsules have their own pressure, and are affected by the barometer—being squeezed a little by higher pressure, or relaxed by lower pressure.

Maybe some weight loss would help. I have OA, probably had it 10 years now. Getting worse every year. Had both knees replaced 3 years ago, now wearing ankle braces without which I could not walk. I have back issues as well. I only have a slight bit of arthritis in my hands which does not really bother me for the most part. Yesterday, some bad rainy front came thru and I had so much pain all over with the joints, I think it went one step further with headaches and diariah.

I could not function anymore so I went to bed. This has happened before in summer with high humidity, but not to the severity of this episode. It is awful!! The older I get, the worse it is. I live in AZ now, and before I came here I was told the dry climate would help….

I am 78 yrs old and have OA from head to toe. I live in central Florida and have been here since The change in barometric pressure down here kills me.

Most often, weather-related pain occurs in injured joints or at the site of a previously broken bone. The most common body parts to experience aches or pains as the weather changes are knees and ankles. The barometric pressure drops when storms are rolling in, and somehow, the body detects this change, causing swelling of soft tissue or expanding of joint fluid.

These changes in the collection are what ultimately lead to pain. If you suffer from inflammation or fluid already around the joints, you are more likely to feel it when the weather changes than others. But the fact remains that that achy, painful feeling can be uncomfortable. Cold can also impact the body, specifically the joints.