Human Sensitivity to Barometric Pressure

Arthritis sufferers have long claimed that their achy joints can forecast rain well before the local meteorologist. Research indicates that the key to this body knowledge is the effect of changes in barometric pressure.

What is Barometric Pressure?

• Weather.com defines barometric pressure as "the weight exerted by the air around us." Changes in barometric pressure typically indicate changes in weather.

Common Factor

• Researchers have determined that the change in the weather---not necessarily the type of weather itself---is what affects us physically. Thus, either an increase or decrease in barometric pressure makes itself felt.

Pressure-sensitive Joints

• USA Today quotes Dr. John Parenti, director of the Orthopedics Department at the Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, Pennsylvania, speculating that "[t]he nerve endings on the joints have receptors that can sense pressure changes."

Conflicting Research

• Although plenty of anecdotal evidence exists regarding the effects of weather on chronic ailments, researchers are divided as to whether the discomfort accompanying weather changes is merely psychological or actually physical.

Variability in Effects

• One thing researchers can agree on is that weather affects us in a variety of ways. Dr. George Urban, associate director of the Diamond Headache Clinic in Chicago, notes that the effect of barometric pressure cannot be tied to any particular type of patient.