ArticlePloS one2017
Local weather is associated with rates of online searches for musculoskeletal pain symptoms.
Article in PloS one, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed.
- Blame it on the weather? The association between pain in fibromyalgia, relative humidity, temperature and barometric pressure.PloS one · 2019Trial
- Association of ambient humidity with online search interest in musculoskeletal stiffness across the United States.Clinical rheumatology · 2026Article
- Effects of meteorological variability on the burden of musculoskeletal disorders among people aged 55 and above in the United States: a secondary analysis of the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- [A preliminary analysis of the clinical characteristics of patients with temperature-sensitive temporomandibular joint disorder syndrome].Hua xi kou qiang yi xue za zhi = Huaxi kouqiang yixue zazhi = West China journal of stomatology · 2025Article
- Inflammaging Markers in the Extremely Cold Climate: A Case Study of Yakutian Population.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Article
- Chronic neck and low back pain from personal experiences: a written narrative approach.Pain management · 2024Article
- The effect of housework, psychosocial stress and residential environment on musculoskeletal disorders for Chinese women.SSM - population health · 2023Article
- Is There Decreasing Public Interest in Renal Transplantation? A Google TrendsJournal of clinical medicine · 2020Article
- Association between rainfall and readmissions of rheumatoid arthritis patients: a time-stratified case-crossover analysis.International journal of biometeorology · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Weather conditions are commonly believed to influence musculoskeletal pain, however the evidence for this is mixed. This study aimed to examine the relationship between local meteorological conditions and online search trends for terms related to knee pain, hip pain, and arthritis. Five years of relative online search volumes for these terms were obtained for the 50 most populous cities in the contiguous United States, along with corresponding local weather data for temperature, relative humidity, barometric pressure, and precipitation. Methods from the climate econometrics literature were used to assess the casual impact of these meteorological variables on the relative volumes of searches for pain. For temperatures between -5°C and 30°C, search volumes for hip pain increased by 12 index points, and knee pain increased by 18 index points. Precipitation had a negative effect on search volumes for these terms. At temperatures >30°C, search volumes for arthritis related pain decreased by 7 index points. These patterns were not seen for pain searches unrelated to the musculoskeletal system. In summary, selected local weather conditions are significantly associated with online search volumes for specific musculoskeletal pain symptoms. We believe the predominate driver for this to be the relative changes in physical activity levels associated with meteorological conditions.
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