Can Weather Affect Arthritis Pain? Here's the Truth

Does your body work better than any weather app? That weird, throbbing sensation in your knee might tell you more about incoming storms than your local meteorologist. And while your great-aunt Martha swearing she can "feel rain coming" in her joints might sound like an old wives' tale, there's actually some science backing up what arthritis sufferers have known forever about weather and inflammation (3).

Can weather affect joints?

The thing about weather and joint pain is-it's complicated. Really complicated. Some days the humidity makes everything feel worse, other times it's the cold that gets you. And just when you think you've figured out your body's weather patterns, things change again (4).

What kind of weather makes arthritis worse?

Imagine you wake up one morning, and without even looking outside, you know what's coming. That storm system that's still hundreds of miles away? Your knees knew about it first. It is not the rain itself causing the trouble, but rather the decrease in air pressure that happens prior to it (2).