You may have noticed the sky hasn’t even cracked yet, but your old injury is already throbbing like a warning siren. That aching knee, stiff shoulder, or busted ankle from years back suddenly flares up — and sure enough, rain is in the forecast.
No, it’s not some backwoods superstition. There’s actually some science to it — and Linton just had a textbook case of it today
A 6-Millibar Drop — and Your Body Felt It, Right?
Over the past 24 hours, atmospheric pressure in Greene County has dropped by nearly 6 millibars — or about 0.17 inches of mercury. That’s not enough to send local weather sirens wailing, but it is enough to set off pain receptors in your body if you’ve got any old war wounds, surgeries, or chronic joint inflammation hiding under the surface.
This week’s weather isn’t classified as extreme by meteorological standards, but tell that to someone limping around Humphreys Park after shattering their ankle in a four-wheeler crash ten years ago. Their bones will beg to differ.
What’s Actually Happening Inside You?
Here’s the breakdown:
When air pressure drops, there’s less atmospheric force pushing against your body. For most people, that’s nothing. But in previously injured joints, where tissues are already inflamed, scarred, or sensitive, this lack of pressure allows fluid to shift and tissues to expand. That expansion presses on nerves, causing dull aches, throbbing, or stiffness — even when nothing else seems out of the ordinary.
Add in cooler temperatures and increased humidity to these lower barometric readings, and your body becomes a human barometer.
Who’s Most Likely to Feel It?
People with old fractures, surgeries, or tendon/ligament injuries can feel these weather changes. Those with arthritis or an autoimmune joint disorder can too. Anyone with nerve damage, especially around load-bearing joints like ankles, knees, hips, or even the lower back, are good prospects, as well.
If it ever feels like “just your luck” that you’re hobbling on the exact day the storms roll in, you’re not crazy — you’re just more in-tune with the environment than most.
What You Can Do About It
Staying warm and moving can help because cold plus stillness equals stiffness. Keep blood flowing. Use compression to limit fluid shifts inside the joint capsule. Take anti-inflammatories (like ibuprofen) before the rain hits, not after. Track barometric pressure; when you see a 4–6 mb dip in 12–24 hours, plan ahead.
There are even apps that can alert you when local pressure’s dropping fast — or you can just listen to the warning coming from your right ankle.
Final Thought: Listen to Your Pain
For those living in southern Indiana with years of wear-and-tear on the body, pain isn’t just a nuisance — it’s a built-in early warning system. If your bones are barking before the weather even hits, pay attention.
Turns out, Mother Nature might not whisper through the leaves anymore. She might just send a sharp jab to your ankle instead