Background& aims. The extent to which weather influences pain symptoms has created great interest over the past decades. Yet,results in this regard are still inconclusive (Macfarlane et al., 2010; Bossema et al.,2013; De Blecourt et al., 1993; Fors& Sexton, 2002; Smedslund et al., 2013; DelirHaghighi et al., 2017), arguably due to methodological shortcomings (i.e., cross-sectional and non-ecological research). Additionally, Redelmeier&Tversky (1996) suggested that this widespread belief that weather influences pain is partly explained by people's tendency to perceive non-existing patterns of associations between variables. The aim of this pilot study is to investigate the influence of weather on Fibromyalgia using an ecological momentary approach. The individuals’ beliefs about the relationship between weather and pain will be calculated and used for discussion. Method. The “Emotional Monitor”, which includes geopositioning technology, was used to monitor pain levels, beliefs, and weather outcomes(temperature, pressure, and humidity) in real time. Participants were 13 fibromyalgia patients and 12 control individuals, who used the app daily during 6 weeks. Results. The correlation between pain and weather outcomes was non-significant in both groups. However, the belief that pain was influenced by weather was high for both groups. Conclusions. The results showed that weather outcomes appear to be unrelated to pain reports. However, the findings confirm Redelmeier conclusions indicating strong beliefs about the relationship between weather and pain. Despite the extent to which these beliefs are associated with poor functioning (i.e., avoidance of activity when the weather is poor) was not investigated here, we suggest that the modification of such beliefs should be addressed in clinical practice.

BELIEFS OF WEATHER INFLUENCE AND CHRONIC PAIN: A PILOT STUDY WITH AN APP WITH GEOPOSITIONING TECHNOLOGY