Fibromyalgia syndrome can be a challenging condition to deal with. Its symptoms include relentless fatigue, muscle pain, depression, dizziness, and nausea.<\/p>\n
Many people with fibromyalgia claim that weather directly affects their symptoms and pain levels, but is this true?<\/p>\n
Fibromyalgia is a chronic disorder marked by widespread, unexplained muscle and joint pain. It\u2019s not a disease, but a syndrome, a collection of symptoms that occur together.<\/p>\n
Although many people think of it as an arthritic condition due to the symptoms, it\u2019s not a type of arthritis. The condition is often associated with tender points, termed \u201ctrigger points.\u201d<\/p>\n
These are places on the body where even light pressure causes pain. According to standards published by the American College of Rheumatology in 1990, a person can be diagnosed with fibromyalgia if they have widespread pain and tenderness in at least 11 known 18 trigger points.<\/p>\n
Common trigger points include:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n According to the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), fibromyalgia affects around 5 million Americans.<\/p>\n Although it occurs in men and women, women account for between 80 and 90 percent of all cases.<\/p>\n According to the Mayo Clinic, people with a family history of the syndrome are more likely to develop it themselves. Also, those with rheumatic diseases like lupus or rheumatoid arthritis are at a greater risk.<\/p>\n Many fibromyalgia patients claim that changes in the weather directly affect their symptoms. Many fibromyalgia syndromes (FM) sufferers claim that their symptoms vary according to temperature changes, changes in air pressure, and changes in precipitation in their part of the world.<\/p>\n Rapid temperature changes may trigger a fibromyalgia flare-up or help ease fibromyalgia pain. Cold weather worsens fibromyalgia symptoms, while warmer weather relieves troublesome symptoms.<\/p>\n Weather changes that have been reported to affect fibromyalgia are:<\/strong><\/p>\n Barometric Pressure<\/u> <\/strong>\u2013 Barometric pressure (a measurement of the weight of the air surrounding us) can trigger muscle aches and pains.<\/p>\n Humidity<\/u><\/strong> \u2013 Humidity, a measurement of the amount of water vapor in each air unit, causes headaches, stiffness, and widespread pain when humidity is low.<\/p>\n Precipitation<\/u> <\/strong>\u2013 Precipitation (any type of water that falls to the ground from the sky) may exacerbate fibromyalgia pain and fatigue.<\/p>\n Wind\u2013Wind<\/u><\/b> generally causes a decrease in barometric pressure and can trigger fatigue, headaches, and muscle aches in people with fibromyalgia.<\/p>\n Several studies have been dedicated to validating this claim of weather sensitivity. In one study, patients were given weather parameters like cloudiness, wind speed, barometric pressure, relative humidity, sunlight, and temperature and asked to rate their pain scores according to weather.<\/p>\n The actual pain scores in different climates and weather conditions were examined, and the fact that fibromyalgia pain could predict the weather the next day was evaluated for truthfulness.<\/p>\n The study found no association between weather changes and fibromyalgia pain on the same or the next day. The study also found that anxiety and depression exacerbated weather sensitivity pain.<\/p>\n Lastly, in this study, patients diagnosed with fibromyalgia for less than ten years had significantly greater weather sensitivity for pain.<\/p>\n A study done at Integrated Tissue Dynamics in New York has shown that the cause of fibromyalgia and weather pain is an abnormality in the palms of patients\u2019 hands \u2013 literally!<\/p>\n The team found an enormous increase in the number of sensory nerve fibers within the blood vessels of the skin on the palms of fibromyalgia patients\u2019 hands.<\/p>\n The discovery revealed clues to the cause of other fibromyalgia symptoms. In the hands and feet, the blood vessels act as shunts, helping to speed blood flow and regulate body temperature.<\/p>\n The shunts act like a radiator in a car, shutting down in warm conditions to radiate the head and opening up when it gets cold.<\/p>\n When it\u2019s freezing out, your cheeks get rosy, and your fingers get all puffy and red. That\u2019s because the AV shunts let in more blood to keep your extremities warm.<\/p>\n The increased activity of the fibers in cold weather explains why people living with fibromyalgia experience more pain during chilly times.<\/p>\n\n
Weather Changes That Affect Fibromyalgia<\/span><\/h2>\n
Pain Studies<\/span><\/h2>\n