The Atmospheric Burden: How Weather Shapes Chronic Pain

If you live with chronic pain, you know the feeling: the skies darken, the air thickens, and before the first raindrop falls, your joints, limbs, or nerves begin to scream. This is something many in the Pacific North West struggle with. For the "pain warrior," the weather is not just a conversation starter—it’s a powerful, often frustrating, co-pilot in managing your daily life. We can’t control the weather, but we can be proactive in managing the fallout from the autumn and winter months. 

This post dives deep into why environmental shifts impact chronic pain, how it uniquely affects conditions like Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS), and the practical tools you can use to navigate the inevitable cloudy days. I have a digital weather station at my desk that tracks both inside and outside temperatures and humidity, as well as measuring the barometric/atmospheric pressure and if it’s going up or down. Seeing what the weather is doing or going to do helps me plan my day so I can workaround the painful reactions my body has to the weather changes.

1. Why the Weather is a Chronic Pain Trigger

The primary culprit linking weather and pain is barometric pressure, also known as atmospheric pressure. This is the weight of the air pressing down on the Earth (and your body). I can predict the weather and whether or not it’s going to rain based on my pain levels and varying painful sensations. When it’s going to rain or it's raining, my legs get this really deep, throbbing ache from hip to toes, and it’s overwhelming and the reality is that it means I need rest. My brain doesn’t function well when my legs are aching that bad. At night, when I’m trying to sleep, and the room is quiet, I can actually hear my legs throbbing, like they have a heartbeat. It’s like when you’ve exerted a lot of energy and can hear your heart pounding, I can hear my legs pounding too. It’s draining and exhausting and overwhelms my mind. 

The Barometric Pressure Theory

The human body is highly pressurized, and when the external pressure changes, it affects our internal tissues, fluids, and joints. This results in either more pain or less pain. 

• Falling Pressure (Before a Storm): Before rain, snow, or a weather front, the barometric pressure drops. This lower external pressure allows the internal fluids and gases in your joints, tendons, and muscles to slightly expand. Even a minute expansion can irritate inflamed tissue, stretched scar tissue, or sensitive nerve endings, leading to increased stiffness and pain. This is my life during autumn and winter, managing pain flares related to weather changes, and those flares dictate to a large degree what I can and can’t do when my legs are impacted by weather. It also means I feel the cold lots. My legs have temperature sensitivities and when I go outside and it’s cold out, it’s like a shock to my system and my legs immediately start stinging and burning and that deep, throbbing ache comes back. It’s brutal and I dread every fall and winter because of it. 
• Rising Pressure (Clear Weather): When the weather stabilizes and the sun comes out, the pressure rises, providing a compressive force that can stabilize the tissues and lead to a reprieve in pain levels. When this happens, I’m still in a lot of pain, but not to the degree I am when it’s wet and cold out. Usually I get a break in the summer months from weather related pain flares, which helps me get mentally ready for the cooler and damper months.

The CRPS Connection: Spinal Fluid and Pressure

For those of us facing conditions like Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS)—often called the "Suicide Disease" due to its intense pain—the impact of barometric pressure can feel even more profound and debilitating. 

The theory many CRPS warriors cite, which is based on how the body manages fluid dynamics, suggests a specific mechanism:

1. Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF): CSF surrounds the brain and spinal cord, acting as a crucial fluid cushion.
2. Pressure Fluctuation: The spinal canal, where the CSF resides, is housed within bone and surrounded by tissue that is sensitive to external pressure changes. When the external barometric pressure drops, it can cause the tissues around the spinal canal to subtly expand.
3. Neural Compression: Because CRPS is fundamentally a neurological disorder involving sympathetic nervous system dysfunction and central sensitization in the spinal cord and brain, any change in the pressure and volume of the surrounding structures (or the fluid itself) can exacerbate the already hyper-sensitized pain signals. This is why a simple change in the weather can feel like a direct assault on the CRPS-affected limb(s).

2. The Impact on the Pain Warrior

Beyond the physiological ache, the weather cycle takes a significant emotional and mental toll:

Pain warriors often deal with the mental fatigue of having to predict and preemptively manage pain based on a forecast. Knowing a storm is coming means you can plan in advance for the increase in pain, but it can also trigger anticipatory anxiety, which only lowers the pain threshold further, creating a vicious cycle. It’s a double-edged sword. 

3. Positive vs. Negative Weather

The Negative (Cloudy, Cold, and Damp)

• Cold: Causes muscles to tense up and blood vessels to constrict, worsening existing stiffness and reducing blood flow to painful areas. In the cooler months I wear leggings and fleece lined jeans to lessen the impact the cold has on my legs. Wearing these means my legs are not so susceptible to the harsh, cold air outside as it hits my legs. I also use a heating pad on low on particularly cold days to help with the cold my legs feel.
• Dampness/Humidity: Combined with cold, humidity can make the air feel heavy and intensify the sensation of cold, penetrating deep into the muscle and joint tissue. When the humidity is high, my legs ache deep into the bone, from the inside out, and it really messes with the way my brain functions when managing that level of pain. It’s almost impossible to do anything. 

The Positive (Warm, Stable, and Sunny)

• Warmth: Heat is a natural analgesic. It promotes blood flow, loosens muscles, and enhances flexibility, often leading to a temporary reduction in pain. When the warmer weather starts, I almost dance for joy, because it usually means less pain and more mobility. I am able to exercise more, and get out doing things, and that all adds to my quality of life.
• Sunlight & Vitamin D: Stable, sunny weather boosts mood and naturally increases Vitamin D synthesis. Vitamin D is essential for bone health and is increasingly recognized for its role in modulating pain perception. In the warmer months, I’m able to get out for walks, and do more during the day, something I struggle with when it’s cold and damp out.

4. Coping Strategies and Tools for the Stormy Months

Since we can’t stop the weather, we must empower ourselves with tools to manage its effects. Over the years, I’ve found things that help. Some things help better than others, and while I always seem to get through the cooler, damper months, each year, it’s because I am proactive in my pain management and working with the weather that I do. 

A. The Power of Prediction and Tracking

• Weather Journal: Keep a journal that tracks your pain level, specific symptoms (stiffness, throbbing, aching), and the daily forecast (especially the change in barometric pressure, which many weather apps provide). In the Chronic Pain & Wellness Tracker I created, I have a space to note the weather each day, which can help explain certain symptoms and pain levels. 
• Proactive Pacing: If the forecast shows a significant drop in pressure, assume it will be a "low-energy, high-pain day." Lighten your schedule before the pain hits. Pacing is your most effective defense against weather-related flare-ups. By planning your day around the weather’s impact on your pain levels, you can help yourself to still have a good day. Being proactive with your pain management and pacing on these days is your best weapon against the cold, damp weather.

B. Home Environment Control

• Invest in Heating/Cooling Pads: Use targeted heat (infrared or electric) on the most painful areas to counteract cold stiffness. My legs have temperature and touch sensitivities, which makes using heating pads a bit tricky, but I can have it on low for a period of time before it becomes too much. It hurts and causes me more pain, but the benefits of the heat outweigh the pain it causes me. 
• Indoor Humidity: Use a dehumidifier in damp months to keep indoor air dry and a humidifier in dry, cold months to prevent mucosal irritation (if it helps your specific condition). I never used to think of the difference between indoor and outdoor humidity levels, but it does make a difference. Before we moved to Galiano Island, our place was always damp, so we ran a dehumidifier. Living here and using a wood stove primarily for heat, means the inside of the house has low humidity. The radiant heat from the woodstove also helps with the pain. 
• Pressure Wraps: For affected limbs (especially crucial for CRPS), use light, comfortable compression garments. This can offer a mild external counter-pressure to help stabilize the tissue volume against the atmospheric change. I like to use a weighted blanket, but my dogs also double as a weighted blanket when one of them hops up on my lap to lay down. I love snuggling with them, and petting them. Their fur is so soft, and the body heat and slight pressure help calm my system. 

C. Mind and Body Tools

• Distraction and Engagement: On high-pain days, choose low-effort, high-engagement activities like listening to audiobooks, playing quiet video games, or calling a supportive friend. Redirecting attention is a proven, powerful tool. On my bad pain days, I like to listen to an audiobook, meditate while doing something creative, or write in one of my journals. I also find writing blog posts to be a good distraction too, as it’s a productive distraction. My mind is busy researching and writing and having that positive focus really helps lessen the volume of my pain signals. 
• Gentle Movement: While major exercise is out, gentle stretching, warm baths, or water therapy (if available) can prevent the muscles from locking up completely. For the last 2 years I’ve exercised twice a week with my mother-in-law, and have been trying to increase that slowly until I am exercising every day. I’m happy to announce that this is my first week doing exercise daily. So far so good. 
• Mindfulness and Meditation: When the pain spikes, the stress response increases, lowering your pain threshold. Short mindfulness practices (even 5 minutes of focused breathing) can help regulate the nervous system and decrease the perceived intensity of the flare. One of my favourite things to do is do arts and crafts while listening to meditations. It really helps calm my system and it’s one of the few things that helps me truly relax.

Above all, remember this: Your pain is valid. It is real. It is not "all in your head." It is a complex, scientifically grounded interaction between your body and the environment. By understanding the intricate dance between barometric pressure, temperature, and humidity, and how these elements specifically impact conditions like Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, you can move from feeling like a victim of the weather to an empowered pain warrior.

Embrace the power of prediction through weather journaling and proactive pacing. Transform your home into a sanctuary with targeted heating, controlled humidity, and comforting pressure wraps. Most importantly, nurture your mind and body with distraction, gentle movement, and mindfulness. These tools are not a cure, but they are your allies in navigating the inevitable atmospheric shifts. Be kind to yourself during the tough atmospheric shifts, and use these tools to weather the storm, knowing you are equipped to manage its fallout and reclaim moments of peace and well-being.

You don't have to manage your chronic pain journey alone. Join our community of pain warriors by signing up for my newsletter on the home page or below any blog post on my website:

https://meredithhutton79.com/meredithhutton79

As a welcome gift, I'll send you two complimentary pain-tracking pages and a 200-page household planner to help ease your mental load.

For more resources, browse my collection of chronic pain-themed trackers, planners, and journals at my shop: 

https://meredithhutton79.com/shop 

and my Chronic Pain Worksheets — To Learn And Level Up blog post packaged with worksheets I create and sell in bundles in my Gumroad shop: 

https://meredithhutton79.gumroad.com