Winter Weather and Chronic Pain

With the first week of sub-freezing weather in Boston, it seems like a good time to revisit the potential link between weather and chronic pain. While this connection is well believed by those living with pain, data has been lacking. A recently published study in NJP Digital Medicine, a peer-reviewed journal, used real-world evidence that suggested the connection is real.  

The study, conducted in the UK, used a smartphone app to collect data from 2,658 people to examine the relationship between local weather and daily pain. The app included a pain tracker where users would rate their pain and matched these ratings with local weather captured through the phone’s GPS.

According to the researchers, “The analysis demonstrated significant yet modest relationships between pain and relative humidity, pressure and wind speed, with correlations remaining even when accounting for mood and physical activity.”

One of the innovations in Quell is the ability to adapt a user’s pain relief therapy to changes in the weather. Users who select Weather Sensitivity under Therapy Automation in the Quell app will get a notification whenever there are local changes in the weather, and can temporarily increase therapy dose with a single tap.

Weather Alerts is just one example of how the Quell Device and Quell app work together help provide a personalized and advanced approach to managing chronic pain.

Photo by Craig Whitehead on Unsplash