Overview:
- According to the Pain News Network, a new mobile app is helping researchers find an association between pain and weather.
- For many years, chronic pain patients have described increased pain with changes in the weather. A smartphone app called Cloudy with a Chance of Pain will help determine whether or not this is true.
- The pain management specialists at Tulsa Pain share how people living in the UK can get involved in this chronic pain and weather study.
You may be familiar with the children’s book and movie Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, but are you aware of the mobile app Cloudy with a Chance of Pain? Perhaps not, but for those living in chronic pain, this new smartphone app may change the way you deal with pain when the weather takes an unexpected turn.
Scientists from the Arthritis Research UK Centre for Epidemiology have developed this mobile app in an attempt to identify a link between weather and chronic pain, that is, if one exists.
Currently, only chronic pain and arthritis patients living in the UK can participate in the study when they download the app. Using a smartphone software called uMotif, users can record their pain levels while their phone’s GPS collects weather data from their location. The company also wants patients to report their ideas and feelings about the association between weather and pain. Ultimately, this data will help researchers explore possible relationships and similarities from a much larger data set.
To participate in the study, patients must first sign up online and answer a few questions. Then, patients must download the app and track their symptoms each day until the study ends next year (January 2017). Of course, opinions are subjective and researchers may not have all the information they need based on this study alone. Still, this study is a step in the right direction when it comes to identifying possible links between pain and weather.
Some studies have found certain weather conditions like temperature, humidity, and rain can cause symptoms of low back pain to flare-up while other studies have found weather does not affect pain. To learn more about this study, visit the Cloudy with a Chance of Pain website.
Tulsa Pain is a multi-location pain management practice in Oklahoma that specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of chronic pain. We are dedicated to helping those who are suffering find the relief they deserve. Our team uses a balanced approach by incorporating minimally invasive, outpatient procedures, complementary and alternative medicine, and medication to help patients take control of their pain. Call 855-918-PAIN or click on our “Request An Appointment” tab to meet with one of our talented pain management specialists today!
The advice and information contained in this article is for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace or counter a physician’s advice or judgment. Please always consult your physician before taking any advice learned here or in any other educational medical material.
