Why Does My Shoulder Feel Better During Summer?

Your shoulders do a lot for you. Whether you’re reaching for something above your head, scratching your back, or brushing your hair, you need your shoulders. So, if you’re struggling with shoulder pain, accomplishing everyday tasks like these can be difficult.

However, if you do experience shoulder pain, you may have noticed that your pain comes and goes as the weather changes. It’s not a coincidence; research backs up the correlation.

Here, our team at AllCare Chiropractic takes a closer look at shoulder pain and how weather affects it.

Understanding shoulder pain

Shoulder pain can happen for any number of reasons and have any number of symptoms. Because the shoulder is a shallow ball-and-socket joint, it has the largest range of motion and is particularly prone to injury and general pain.

Common causes of shoulder pain include:

• Arthritis
• Poor posture
• Frozen shoulder syndrome
• Tendinitis
• Rotator cuff tears

Unfortunately, the root cause of shoulder pain can’t always be found. It could be the result of what’s called referred pain, when pain in one part of your body radiates to another. That often happens with cases of neck problems like arthritis or disc herniations.

If you’re dealing with shoulder pain, you might experience some of the following symptoms:

• Pain and stiffness in and around your shoulder joint
• Shoulder instability
• Inability to raise your arm above your head 
• Muscle weakness around your shoulder

Shoulder pain can range from mild to severe. You mostly might feel weakness and maybe even some tingling sensations.

How does the weather affect your shoulder pain?

While there are many things you can do to alleviate your shoulder pain, you may notice that it naturally gets better during the warmer, sunnier months. The exact cause of this phenomenon is unknown but believed to be largely due to barometric pressure.

When it’s cold outside, barometric pressure drops, so there’s less air weighing on you. This reduced pressure means the tissues in your body, including your shoulder, can expand and possibly irritate your joints.

Colder weather can also cause fluid in your joints to become thicker, resulting in joint stiffness.

Even if your shoulder feels better as the weather warms up, be careful not to overdo it and risk a strain or other injury. 

If rest and warm weather aren’t sufficient to relieve your shoulder pain, the team at AllCare Chiropractic can help. To learn more or get started on a treatment plan, call one of our convenient locations or use our online booking tool today.