Why Pain and Migraines Flare When the Seasons Shift
(And Why Your Body Isn't Broken)
By Dr. Brenna Erickson
If your migraines spike when winter breaks into spring—when the air goes soft and unpredictable, when one day it's 15 degrees and snowing sideways and the next it's 50 and your neighbor is running past you in shorts and a tshirt—you're not the only one.
Here in Minnesota, we joke that the weather forecast is only good for about 24 hours. If that. Spring doesn't arrive gently. It lurches. The barometric pressure swings like a pendulum. One morning you wake to sun; by afternoon, thunderheads are rolling across the prairie, the air pressure dropping so fast your body feels it before you can even see the clouds.
And your nervous system notices.
Not because something is wrong with you.
But because your body—like a garden responding to the first thaw—is navigating change.
Barometric pressure, weather change, migraine headache, highly sensitive bodies
The Weight of the Air (And Why It Matters)
Barometric pressure is the weight of the atmosphere pressing down on us. Most of the time, we don't feel it. But when weather systems move through—especially the kind of dramatic shifts we get in the Upper Midwest—that pressure rises and falls.
Sometimes gently.
More often here? Like a stone dropping into still water.
And your body is the water.
For people with migraines, chronic pain, old injuries, or a nervous system tuned to pick up on subtle changes (what I call "highly sensitive"), these pressure shifts can feel like an alarm bell going off inside your skull.
Research shows that barometric pressure changes can influence:
Joint and connective tissue tension (why your knee that you sprained in college suddenly aches)
Blood vessel behavior (the dilation and constriction that triggers migraine)
Sensory nerve signaling (amplifying signals that normally stay quiet)
Intracranial pressure sensitivity (particularly relevant for migraines)
Think of it this way:
Your nervous system is a weather vane. When the wind shifts, it turns.
Not because it's broken.
Because that's what it's designed to do.
Winter's Grip (And Why Spring Feels Hard)
Late winter into early spring is a strange in-between time.
Your body has spent months in what I call "winter mode":
Reduced circulation (cold constricts blood vessels, keeps warmth close to the core)
Increased muscle guarding (bracing against wind, hunching against cold)
Less movement (we hibernate a little, whether we mean to or not)
Your tissues have been protected. Held close. Conserved.
And then spring asks them to open.
Suddenly there's more light. More activity. More demand.
The garden that's been dormant all winter is being asked to bloom—sometimes before the ground has fully thawed.
This transition takes energy.
And during that transition, your body might respond with:
Migraines or headaches
Neck and shoulder tension (from months of bracing)
Low back or hip pain (from less movement, more sitting)
Joint stiffness (tissues that haven't been asked to stretch in a while)
Flares of old injuries (places that hold memory)
These sensations are not new injuries.
They're sensitivity.
Your nervous system saying: "This is a lot of change at once. I'm recalibrating. Give me a minute."
Canary in the coal mine, highly sensitive persons, bodies made of water, barometric pressure
Migraines: The Canary in the Coal Mine
Migraines are not just headaches.
They're a whole-system response—a neurological event that involves blood vessels, sensory processing, hormones, immune signaling, and your autonomic nervous system.
Which means migraines are exquisitely sensitive to disruption in pattern.
And spring? Spring is all disruption.
The light changes (affecting circadian rhythms and melatonin production).
Sleep schedules drift (daylight savings, longer evenings, the pull to stay up later aka social jetlag).
Stress increases—even good stress (yard work, travel plans, social events after months of hibernation).
Activity ramps up faster than your nervous system can comfortably tolerate.
It's not that you're doing something wrong.
It's that change itself is a load.
And migraines are often your nervous system's way of saying: "Too much, too fast. I need steadiness."
Nothing Is Broken
This is the part I need you to hear:
Seasonal pain and migraine flares do not mean something is wrong with your body.
They don't mean you've regressed.
They don't mean you failed at "managing" your condition.
They don't mean you're fragile or broken.
They mean you're human.
And your nervous system—like all nervous systems—responds to environmental change.
Pain Is Information
When barometric pressure drops and your migraine flares, your brain isn't malfunctioning.
It's communicating.
"The environment is shifting. I'm working hard to recalibrate. This is a lot."
The problem isn't the signal.
The problem is when we interpret that signal as danger.
Because when pain is interpreted as danger ("Oh no, something's wrong, I'm broken, this is getting worse"), the nervous system escalates. It turns up the volume. It goes into protection mode.
But when pain is understood as information—as a response to load, as part of recalibration—the nervous system is more likely to settle.
Think of it like this:
A smoke detector going off doesn't mean your house is burning down.
Sometimes it just means you burned the toast.
Supportive care, tools to adapt, migraine toolkit, remedies for relief, natural healing
What Helps (When the Seasons Shift Your Ground)
Supportive care during seasonal transitions isn't about forcing your body to comply.
It's about creating conditions where your nervous system can adapt without going into overdrive.
Here‘s what can help:
1. Rhythm Over Rigidity
Consistent sleep (even when daylight tempts you to stay up)
Hydration (especially as the air dries out)
Gentle movement (not "getting back to the gym," but walking, stretching, moving in ways that feel good)
2. Gradual Increases in Activity
Don't go from zero to sixty just because the sun came out.
Your tissues need time to remember how to move freely.
Think: thawing, not forcing.
3. Nervous-System-Supportive Bodywork
This is where chiropractic (especially DNFT), acupuncture, craniosacral work, and massage can be profound.
Not because they "fix" anything.
But because they help your nervous system down-regulate.
They create safety.
They remind your body: "You're okay. You can adapt. You don't have to brace."
4. Early Intervention (Not Waiting Until You're In Crisis)
If you know spring is hard for you, don't wait until you're laid out with a migraine to reach out.
Come in before the storm.
Get acupuncture when you notice the first signs of tension.
Do the nervous system work before you're desperate.
Think of it as tending the garden before the weeds take over.
A Temporary Phase (Not a Setback)
I know seasonal flares can feel discouraging.
Especially when you've been stable. When you've been doing all the things. When you thought you had this figured out.
And then spring comes and your body says: "Not so fast."
But here's the truth:
Most seasonal flares are temporary.
With appropriate support—rest, rhythm, bodywork, self-compassion—symptoms typically ease as your nervous system adapts to the new conditions.
Change requires energy.
The ground shifting beneath you requires recalibration.
Your body is allowed to take the time it needs.
Your body is a garden, the tending method, tend your body like a garden, seasonal changes, preparing for change
The Garden Philosophy (Applied to Seasonal Transitions)
Your body is a garden, not a machine.
Gardens don't break.
They go dormant. They conserve. They wait.
And when spring comes—when the light returns and the ground thaws—they don't bloom all at once.
There's a period of adjustment.
The roots have to wake up.
The soil has to warm.
The shoots push through slowly, tentatively, testing the air.
That's not failure.
That's spring.
Late winter, early spring, geese, lake life, barometric pressure change, migraine headache
So if your migraines are flaring right now, as winter breaks and the barometric pressure swings and the light changes and your nervous system tries to keep up—
You're not broken.
You're not regressing.
You're not doing anything wrong.
You're in transition.
And transitions take time.
Tend yourself gently.
What does your body need today?
Dr. Brenna Erickson, DC
The Migraine Whisperer
DNFT-Certified | Functional Medicine Trained
Minneapolis, Minnesota
