Did you know Intellicast maintains an Aches and Pains Forecast page of the United States, which features a map showing where aches and pains are likely to be the highest on any given day?
It’s not that they’re psychic… they’re making an educated guess based on weather forecasts, the way they also do for health conditions like asthma and allergies, or pests like mosquitoes.
In the case of pain, it’s thought to be changing air (barometric) pressure, and also possibly humidity and temperature, that’s to blame. So if you’re someone who swears you can predict the weather based on your throbbing shoulder or back… here’s the proof you may have been looking for.
Humidity, Pressure and Pain: What’s the Weather Got to Do with It?
At least one animal study has confirmed that a drop in barometric pressure, such as might occur before a storm, intensifies joint pain,[i] while other research has found changes in weather conditions such as low temperature and high humidity can impact people with back pain, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis,[ii] osteoarthritis and temporomandibular disorders (TMDs).[iii]
According to Mark A. McQuillan, M.D., associate professor in the Department of Internal Medicine, Divisions of General Medicine and Rheumatology, at the University of Michigan:[iv]
” …arthritis patients feel an uncomfortable pressure in their joints on days of high humidity and low barometric pressure, especially just before a storm.”
Likewise, when 70 chronic pain patients filled out the Weather and Pain Questionnaire (WPQ), which assesses patient sensitivity related to weather variables defined by the National Weather Service (such as temperature, precipitation, etc.), the most frequently reported variables to influence pain were temperature (in 87% of cases) and humidity (77%). Joint and muscle aches were the most common symptoms reported, impacting 82% and 79% of the pain sufferers, respectively.[v]
There are several theories for why pain may increase when humidity rises, with the predominant one being that humidity causes already inflamed tissues to swell, causing more intense pain. As for barometric pressure, your joints have nerve endings with receptors that can “feel” pressure changes in the environment, which may be why achy joints are so common just before a storm comes in, when pressure changes can be dramatic.
Additionally, weather-related pain appears to be highly individualized, with symptoms generally worsening in those who believe they are “weather sensitive.”
A Simple Solution for Weather-Related Back and Joint Pain
Pain is no fun for any reason, but when a thunderstorm or rain shower is what brings it on, you may feel completely helpless to stop it. After all, You can’t hide from the weather!
This is when having a tube of Rub on Relief® on hand can be invaluable.
While giving you the simplicity and fast-acting relief you expect from a pain cream – as the name says, you simply rub it on for relief – Rub On Relief® does so without questionable ingredients like methyl salicylate, parabens, petrolatum, paraffin, mineral oil, toluene, artificial colors, preservatives or NSAID drugs of any kind.
What is does contain is a synergistic blend of natural ingredients.
While the mechanism of action in most back pain creams is the cooling or heating sensation, Rub on Relief® does not rely on cool or heat sensations for effectiveness. The active ingredients keep working long after the cooling sensation disappears.
So no matter what the weather, you can relax pain-free … and if you don’t mind giving up your psychic weather-predicting abilities, you can even dab some on at the first sign of a storm to nip pain completely in the bud… Click here now to discover more and try it!
