Over two millennia had to pass before one of the greatest physicians of antiquity and widely accepted as the father of western conventional medicine, Hippocrates was vindicated on his theory that chronic pain are linked to weather conditions. Preliminary findings from a mass participation study have indicated a link between weather conditions – specifically rain and lack of sunshine – and chronic pain.
Daily data inputted from over 9000 UK participants in The University of Manchester-led ‘Cloudy with a Chance of Pain’ project has been viewed at the halfway stage of the 18-month study; these early results suggest a correlation between the number of sunny days and rainfall levels and changes in pain levels. Will Dixon, Professor of Digital Epidemiology at The University of Manchester’s School of Biological Sciences and scientific lead for the Cloudy project, said the early results were encouraging but urged more people to take part in the study in order to allow robust conclusions at the end of the study. “Once the link is proven, people will have the confidence to plan their activities in accordance with the weather. In addition, understanding how weather influences pain will allow medical researchers to explore new pain interventions and treatments.