The principle of pain in rheumatoid arthritis when the weather changes.

Wang Zikang, director of orthopedics at Hsinchu Hospital of the Department of Health of the Executive Yuan, said today that many arthritis patients have mentioned that they will feel pain before the weather changes. Although there is no scientific connection between them, it is suggested that they might as well apply hot compress to relieve discomfort first.

Wang Zikang said that for a long time, there has been a saying among the older generation that arthritis patients (especially shoulder joints, knee joints and hip joints) have the ability to predict the future weather. Even if it is sunny, patients will predict that the weather will change tomorrow because of shoulder pain.

Wang Zikang said that about 10- 15% of his arthritis patients would mention that their joint pain was related to weather changes.

However, from many sources, it is found that the statement that "weather causes pain" is unfounded. For example, the joint cavity effusion was taken before and after the weather changed, and the results showed that there was no difference in the test of the extracted fluid and there was no change in inflammation.

In addition, he said, patients think that the change of weather pressure is the cause of pain, but experiments in high-speed elevators show that no arthritis patients suffer from pain;

Furthermore, people are warm-blooded animals, and the joint temperature change caused by temperature cannot be established.

Wang Zikang said that although there is no scientific evidence to support the statement that weather causes pain, if patients still believe in the relationship between weather and joint pain, they may wish to respect their ideas.

Wang Zikang said that there is another saying, "It may be that it is dark, and the patient can't go out and stay on the sofa or bed all the time, resulting in stiff joints and more pain. At this time, patients think that weather changes make their joints more painful. "

He believes that this statement still has a certain theoretical basis. Therefore, he suggested that if patients are worried about weather changes and joint pain, they may wish to apply deep hot compress in advance to avoid reducing the stiffness and discomfort caused by activities.

Wang Zikang said that if the knee joint and hip joint have persistent joint pain due to severe arthritis, they should go to the orthopedic clinic for detailed examination.