Lifestyle

Does Cold Weather Really Make Your Joints Ache? What Researchers Have Found

By Curtis Jones · October 30, 2026

As the days turn colder, plenty of people say their knees, hips or hands start sending signals. Some insist they can tell a storm is coming before the forecast does. Scientists have spent years testing that belief, and the answer so far is less settled than many people expect.

“Research still hasn’t confirmed a cause-and-effect link between weather and joint pain,” Harvard Health Publishing says, “though many people insist they can predict the weather based on such aches.”

Here is what the studies have found.

One very large study found no link with rain. Researchers led by Dr. Anupam Jena of Harvard Medical School looked at more than 11.6 million outpatient visits by about 1.55 million Medicare patients age 65 and older from 2008 to 2012, published in The BMJ in 2017. They compared visits for joint or back pain on rainy days and dry days in the same areas. The difference they found was tiny and ran in the opposite direction from what people would expect. The authors said a relation may still exist and that more detailed data on pain would help.

Other research points the other way. A study of 200 people with knee pain from arthritis across the United States, published in The American Journal of Medicine in 2007, found that changes in barometric pressure and lower temperatures were each linked to worse pain over three months.

Cold itself may not be the main factor. A United Kingdom smartphone study called Cloudy with a Chance of Pain tracked daily reports from 2,658 people with long-term pain over 15 months. It found modest links between more painful days and higher humidity, lower air pressure and stronger wind, even after accounting for mood and physical activity. Temperature and rainfall were not linked to pain. The researchers estimated that the worst combination of weather raised the odds of a painful day by just over 20% compared with an average day.

Why it might happen. Harvard Health says one theory is that lower air pressure lets muscles, tendons and other tissues around the joints expand, which can press on the joints. Another possibility is that people move less on cold, damp days, for example sitting on the couch for hours. Expecting discomfort may also make people notice aches more.

Memory can play tricks. Writing for Harvard Health, rheumatologist Dr. Robert Shmerling noted that people tend to remember when two things happen together, such as gloomy weather and sore joints, and forget the days when they don’t. He said he believes patients who tell him they feel the weather coming, but remains a skeptic until stronger evidence appears.

What helps. Harvard Health recommends regular exercise and stretching to ward off weather-related aches. MedlinePlus, from the National Library of Medicine, says rest, exercise, warm baths, massage and stretching can help with joint pain not caused by arthritis. A chiropractor quoted by Cleveland Clinic also suggests dressing warmly and using a heating pad or hot shower.

MedlinePlus advises contacting a health care provider if joint pain lasts more than several days, if you have severe, unexplained joint pain and swelling, if you have a fever not tied to the flu, or if you have lost 10 pounds or more without trying.

This article is for general information and is not medical advice. Talk with your doctor about joint pain that lasts or comes with swelling or fever. This article was produced with the assistance of AI and fact-checked against the sources cited by LightWave Reports.