Researchers are looking to explain scientifically the age-old patients’ complaint of “feeling under the weather”. Until now, that was pretty much an impossible task, but with the help of mobile technology conducting such a research is not only doable, but expected to return meaningful results on a larger scale.

Scientists from the University of Manchester in the UK are looking to discover whether certain weather conditions cause actual pain for people with arthritis and other chronic complaints.

Patients that accept to participate in the study will use a specially-developed smartphone app to tell researchers about their pain, while data on local weather conditions will be gathered using their phone’s GPS signal.

“Almost every week, a patient will tell me their symptoms are better or worse because of the weather, but whenever I ask how the weather affects their pain, there is no real consensus,” said Dr Will Dixon, director of the University of Manchester’s Arthritis Research UK Centre for Epidemiology, who came up with the idea. “There is a strong belief that pain is affected by the weather, but nobody has been able to work it out.”

The study, entitled “Cloudy with a Chance of Pain”, is supported by Arthritis Research UK, inviting anyone with arthritis or chronic pain aged over 17 to take part using their own smartphone.

Around 10 million people in Britain are living with arthritis, and one in five GP visits involve symptoms of the condition.

[Via: Independent]