The influence of weather conditions on osteoarthritis and joint pain after prosthetic surgery

Abstract

The purpose of this narrative review was to highlight the research on the influence of weather conditions on patients with osteoarthritis, the pathophysiological mechanisms and the therapeutic consequences. A search was conducted using the Pubmed, Medline and Web of Science databases. Barometric pressure, temperature and humidity are the weather conditions that are found to be correlated most to the worsening of pain complaints. But, due to the difficulty of measuring the impact of these variables and the great diversity in study protocols, an analysis of studies regarding this topic shows conflicting results. Central sensitization mechanisms and the function of a Transient Receptor Potential channel might explain the pain hypersensitivity to cold weather. Joint pain, caused by central sensitization mechanisms, cannot always be treated with joint arthroplasty. When pain remains present after joint arthroplasty, centrally mediated pain constitutes an important role.