title: Meteorological conditions and self-report of low back pain.
abstract: METHODS
  Six months of daily low back pain ratings for 94 individuals were tested for the influence of prevailing weather conditions during the spring, summer, and fall seasons. Intergroup differences were tested for study participants who reported weather sensitivity and for those who did not.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the relation between pain ratings and prevailing weather conditions in a population with chronic or recurrent low back pain.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Weather conditions have been reported to influence pain perception in some disease states, including low back pain. Investigations of this relation in chronic or recurrent low back pain have involved varied methodologies, and conflicting results have been reported.
  
  
  METHODS
  The effects of eight weather variables reported to influence musculoskeletal pain were tested on daily pain ratings. A post hoc weather sensitivity questionnaire was used to disperse 73 individuals into groups based on perceived weather sensitivity, and group differences were tested.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Significant effects on pain scores were found, most notably for temperature and vapor pressure. The magnitude of the effects were small compared with autocorrelation of an individual's own pain scores. Significant differences were found between the group of individuals who were insensitive to weather conditions and that of individuals with perceived sensitivity to cold temperatures. No significant intergroup differences were found for damp, rainy conditions or changes in barometric pressure.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Weather conditions may influence subjective reporting of low back pain significantly. Although the effects are small in magnitude, they should be considered in clinical treatment of the patient with chronic, nonspecific low back pain. Pain scores may demonstrate greater interaction with certain weather conditions in individuals perceiving sensitivity to those conditions.
authors.affiliation: Liberty Mutual Research Center for Safety and Health, Hopkinton, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: R W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: McGorry
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Hsiang
authors.forename: S H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Snook
authors.forename: E A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Clancy
authors.forename: S L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Young
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D017116:Low Back Pain / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008685:Meteorological Concepts; D008875:Middle Aged; D010147:Pain Measurement / Q000379:methods*; D012008:Recurrence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012650:Self Disclosure; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014887:Weather