Why winter makes chronic pain worse and eight ways to manage it
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The winter can be detrimental to those suffering from chronic pain, with many knowing all too well that those familiar aches and pains will intensify. There are thought to be 10 million people in Britain with osteoarthritis – and countless more suffering chronic joint pain due to conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, fibromyalgia and bursitis. According to research, around three-quarters of people living with chronic pain claim the weather negatively affects their condition – and most doctors would agree.
“In cold weather, joint pain often flares up, and the reasons go beyond just stiffness from the chill,” says Dr Snieguole Geige from It’s Me & You Clinic. “For those prone to joint issues, joint inflammation and sensitivity can be keenly felt as a type of internal weather forecast, predicting cold fronts before they arrive.”.
While the issue remains controversial – with mixed scientific evidence failing to provide concrete proof that joint pain is worse in cold weather – one 2007 study of patients with osteoporosis in their knees reported that their pain increased with every 10-degree drop in temperature. More recent research also backs up this finding, with a mass study led by University of Manchester-based researchers demonstrating the links between pain and certain weather conditions. It tracked over 15 months more than 13,000 UK residents who suffer from chronic pain and asked them to record the daily intensity of their pain on a smartphone app. The GPS location of their phone then linked their findings to the weather data and showed that on the days that most people reported high levels of pain, the humidity and rain levels were higher and winds were stronger. The findings are no surprise to osteoarthritis sufferer Raija Piispanen, 65, from London.
