Legend says that people with osteoarthritis can predict the weather. Many people complain of pain in winter, especially when the weather is humid. Why ? What solutions to avoid pain?
Like many people, cold and especially wet weather brings back your old sleeping pains? Your hip, knee osteoarthritis or your tendonitis ? Decryption of the phenomenon with Dr. Stephan Pavy, rheumatologist.
Osteoarthritis: a disease of the cartilage
Osteoarthritis is a pathology of the cartilage that encompasses the bony parts within a joint and allows its mobilization without pain. It’s’alteration of this area that leads to the appearance of mechanical pain. “When there is no more cartilage, it is replaced by a prosthesis“, explains Dr. Stephan Pavy, rheumatologist. The main causes are age-related degeneration, trauma such as a broken joint due to an accident or certain sports, being overweight, and the role of genetics.
Why does osteoarthritis come back when it’s cold?
Legend says that people with osteoarthritis can predict the weather. Many people complain of joint pain, mainly in winter. Does the cold wake up these pains? “It is rather the humidity that causes this feeling but it’s hard to explain whyi”, underlines Stephan Pavy who admits however that “in dry or hot weather, patients report feeling less pain“. However, “no study has been able to prove it“. The most recent on the subject was published in the scientific journal Nature in 2019 and was conducted by the University of Manchester, UK. She was carried out with the help of 13,000 patients and based on daily information provided by 2,658 of them for six months. the Professor William Dixonlead author of this study, explains that “the analysis showed that during wet and windy days with low atmospheric pressure, the chances of having more pain, compared to an average day, were about 20%“. It is difficult to explain why wet weather can have consequences on osteoarthritis. The study puts forward a few hypotheses, including a variation in density in the parts surrounding the bone, or the action of environmental conditions. atmospheric effects on the pain-causing nerve endings around the joint.
What solutions?
To relieve joint pain associated withhumiditythe rheumatologist advises to anticipate the weather by taking analgesics (paracetamol) to prevent these pain peaks. However, we must not demonize cold. He has beneficial effects on osteoarthritis when the pain is inflammatory, reminds Dr. Pavy, particularly on superficial joints such as the knee, fingers and wrists. Indeed, the coldhas a vasoconstriction effect which relieves pain“, reduces inflammation and blood flow to joints that are inflamed. He also has a anesthetic effect.
Thanks to Dr. Stephan Pavy, rheumatologist.
Source: study “How the weather affects the pain of citizen scientists using a smartphone app“, published in 2019 in the scientific journal Nature.