METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS AND SELF-REPORT OF LOW-BACK-PAIN

Study Design. Six months of daily low back pain ratings for 94 individ uals were tested for the influence of prevailing weather conditions du ring the spring, summer, and fall seasons. Intergroup differences were tested for study participants who reported weather sensitivity and fo r those who did not. Objectives. To investigate the relation between p ain ratings and prevailing weather conditions in a population with chr onic or recurrent low back pain. Summary of Background Data. Weather c onditions have been reported to influence pain perception in some dise ase states, including low back pain. Investigations of this relation i n chronic or recurrent low back pain have involved varied methodologie s, and conflicting results have been reported. Methods. The effects of eight weather variables reported to influence musculoskeletal pain we re tested on daily pain ratings. A post hoc weather sensitivity questi onnaire was used to disperse 73 individuals into groups based on perce ived weather sensitivity, and group differences were tested. Results. Significant effects on pain scores were found, most notably for temper ature and vapor pressure. The magnitude of the effects were small comp ared with autocorrelation of an individual's own pain scores. Signific ant differences were found between the group of individuals who were i nsensitive to weather conditions and that of individuals with perceive d sensitivity to cold temperatures. No significant intergroup differen ces were found for damp, rainy conditions or changes in barometric pre ssure. Conclusions. Weather conditions may influence subjective report ing of low back pain significantly. Although the effects are small in magnitude, they should be considered in clinical treatment of the pati ent with chronic, nonspecific low back pain. Pain scores may demonstra te greater interaction with certain weather conditions in individuals perceiving sensitivity to those conditions.