can your joint pain predict the weather?

We all know that person who swears that they can sense a weather change by their knee or shoulder ache. How is that possible? Why would changes in weather patterns affect someone’s joint pains? Does science support this claim?

It turns out that these individuals are in fact telling the truth. There are two major weather pattern shifts that can have an impact on someone's chronic joint pains. First, a drop in the barometric pressure. When storm systems begin to roll through, the high-pressure system that produced sunny skies is replaced by a low-pressure system that brings in the storms. A drop in barometric pressure results in less pressure from the air being exerted on the human body. With less pressure, tissues are able to expand and swell. For individuals with chronic joint pains, this swelling can lead to an achy, sore feeling that they don’t experience during a high-pressure system. The quicker the change in pressure, the more this effect is noticed. The second weather pattern shift which affects joint pains is a sudden drop in temperature. We all know that cold air makes us stiffer. For someone suffering from chronic joint pains, increased stiffness often produces more discomfort in their problem area. If we couple a drop in barometric pressure with a drop in temperature, then they really will notice the change in the weather pattern.

So, it is true that individuals with chronic joint pains will notice changes in symptoms with changes in the weather pattern. At times, this may feel like a more accurate predictor than the satellites and radar the meteorologists use (are they ever right?). So the next time Grandpa Jim tells you a storm is coming, you might better believe him.