CALGARY Migraine sufferers say there’s nothing quite as painful as a “chinook headache” brought on by the warm winds that can turn a frigid day into a balmy oasis during the winter months.But a study from the University of Calgary suggests that a chinook may be a wind that blows less ill than its reputation would suggest.”Our study suggests chinooks may have unfairly gotten a bad rap among neuropathic pain sufferers,” said Dr. Cory Toth, research director of the Calgary Chronic Pain Centre Clinic at Foothills Medical Centre.”Many patients should welcome chinooks instead of dreading them.”Toth tracked almost 100 pain sufferers over four years and looked specifically at patients who suffer from sciatica (pain in the lower back, buttocks and legs), pinched nerves or nerve pain associated with diabetes.Patients were told researchers were looking at how exercise, diet, mood, anxiety levels and weather might affect their pain. Divorce Mediation . casino online . They recorded what they were feeling and noted precise times, which allowed researchers to compare the information with hourly weather data from Environment Canada”Many of our patients had complained that their pain worsened during changes in Calgary weather, particularly during chinooks,” said Toth, who is also a neurosciences professor at the University of Calgary.”We expected to find a clear association between chinooks and worsening pain but we found just the opposite. Most patients’ pain improved during the warmer weather and got worse when temperatures dropped.”Toth said neuropathic pain affects about eight per cent of the population and migraines bother about 12 per cent. Lawn Care Denver . There is significant overlap between both groups. Previous migraine studies suggested lower barometric pressures and higher temperatures during chinooks could increase the risk of triggering an attack.”I think both these studies show that we don’t yet fully understand the effects of weather on pain.”Chinooks, warm and dry wind that blow in from the mountains, can occur any time of year but are most often felt in the fall and winter. They can be responsible for huge jumps in temperature in a matter of hours.The Influence of Chinook Winds and Other Weather Patterns upon Neuropathic Pain is published in the latest issue of the journal Pain Medicine.Read more: http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Health/20111124/chinook-migraine-headache-111124/#ixzz1edztgwI8