Summer Brings Thunderstorms and People with Joint Pain Can Forecast Them, Science Backs It Up
The
summer brings many thunderstorms to the east coast of the United
States, and one of the nation’s leading joint specialists, Javad
Parvizi, M.D., Ph.D., of the Rothman Institute at Thomas Jefferson
University Hospital, says you should believe your grandmother, friend
or co-worker when they tell you it’s going to rain—even if it’s simply
because their aching knees, hips, hands or shoulders “say so.”
Dr.
Parvizi, who is also director of clinical research at the Rothman
Institute at Jefferson, and associate professor of Orthopaedic Surgery
at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University in
Philadelphia, explains that even though individuals can experience pain
fluctuations with the slightest change in barometric pressure, most
patients report significant increases in pain before and during severe
changes in weather, like summer downpours and thunderstorms.
“The phenomenon of people being able to forecast precipitation, especially rain, due to the level of their joint pain is real,”
says Dr. Parvizi. “It is not in the patient’s head. There is science to back it up.”
Weather-related
joint pain is typically seen in patients with osteoarthritis,
rheumatoid arthritis, and other arthritic conditions. It can affect
any load-bearing joint, but is most common in hips, knees, elbows,
shoulders and hands. The joints contain sensory nerves called
baro-receptors which respond to changes in atmospheric pressure. These
receptors especially react when there is low barometric pressure,
meaning the atmosphere has gone from dry to moist, like when it is
going to rain.
“When
pressure in the environment changes, we know that the amount of fluid
in the joint or the pressure inside the joint fluctuates with it,” says
Dr. Parvizi. “Individuals with arthritic joints feel these changes
much more because they have less cartilage to provide cushioning.”
Dr.
Parvizi says that sometimes the pain is due to inflammatory mediators
around the joint, like with rheumatoid arthritis conditions and can
often be helped by keeping the joints warm or icing them (depending on
preference), massage therapy, and applying pain killing creams and
ointments. Other treatments may include non-steroidal
anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), site-specific steroid injections, and
long-term use of certain supplements like Omega-3 (which is used to
reduce inflammation) and glucosamine and chondroitin, which have been
shown, in combination, to significantly reduce arthritis pain and
maintain healthy cartilage.
For patients who have suffered a long time and exhibit signs of end stage arthritis (no cartilage left to cushion the joint),
Dr. Parvizi suggests that joint replacement should be considered.
“Our
goal is to get that painful little weatherman out of the patient’s
joints while treating the root cause of their condition.”
The
Rothman Institute at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in
Philadelphia offers orthopaedic and sports medicine expertise in the
medical care of the spine, hip, knee, shoulder, elbow, foot, ankle,
wrist and hand. Ranked second in the U.S. for orthopaedic funding by
the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Department of Orthopaedic
Surgery at Jefferson comprises over 50 board certified physicians who
develop, teach and practice groundbreaking therapies and technologies
that shape patient care practices around the country.
For more information or to schedule an appointment with a Rothman Institute at Jefferson joint specialist, call 1-800-JEFF-NOW
or visit www.jeffersonhospital.org/orthopedic/.
Media Only Contact:
Richard Cushman
Thomas Jefferson University Hospital
Phone: (215) 955-6300
Published: 5/30/2008