Every so often here at C3 Cathedral Chiro, a patient leans in and says something like:
“I swear my back pain is always worse around the full moon,”
or, more recently,
“It was definitely that Beaver Moon - I felt awful!”
And while I reassure them that they aren’t slowly turning into a creature of the night (at least not on my watch), I also don’t dismiss the idea outright. Because as much as we love tidy scientific explanations, human experience is rarely tidy - and often much more interesting.
So… can the moon influence how we feel?
One large study looking at over 12,000 cases of post-surgical pain found no significant effect from moon phases. A few small differences popped up here and there (e.g., sleep quality after surgery), but nothing dramatic enough to blame on lunar mischief.
Here’s where it gets intriguing:
A recent study found a circalunar rhythm in migraine attacks. Migraine risk was around 34% higher near the new moon than the full moon.
That doesn’t mean everyone with migraines will experience this pattern - but it does suggest the moon might influence certain neurological processes in some people.
One study found that people undergoing kidney stone shock-wave therapy reported slightly lower pain during one particular moon phase (the first quarter).
Why? No-one is quite sure.
It could be coincidence, or it could mean that human biology synchronises with natural cycles in ways we don’t fully understand.
Some studies suggest that sleep duration changes slightly around the full moon in some people.
Others show no effect at all.
Bipolar mood cycling has shown possible links to lunar light rhythms - but again, this applies to specific subgroups, not everyone.
In short:
There’s no strong, consistent evidence that the moon universally affects human pain levels.
But… There are interesting hints that for some individuals, certain symptoms might track with lunar cycles.
Because humans are not machines.
We are rhythm-driven biological organisms living in a world full of cycles - light, dark, seasons, tides, and yes, lunar phases.
A few possibilities:
None of these explanations invalidate a person’s lived experience. If you feel worse during a particular moon phase, that sensation is real to you - even if scientists can’t fully explain why yet.
Absolutely - and it would actually be quite fun.
For example, clinics could look at:
I’m not expecting dramatic spikes in back pain on the night of the full moon…
…but if migraine researchers are uncovering lunar patterns, who knows what we might find?
At the very least, it would provide interesting data. At best, it might reveal subtle rhythms we’ve overlooked.
Science is wonderful. Peer-reviewed research keeps us grounded and honest.
But humans are more than numbers. We are stories, sensations, instincts, beliefs, culture, and subjective experiences. When a patient tells me the moon affects their symptoms, my job is not to shut that down - it’s to listen. Because even if the mechanism is unclear, the experience is valid. And sometimes, the most helpful healthcare acknowledges both:
If nothing else, these conversations remind us that the human body is complex, and that there is still so much we don’t understand.
Are moon phases likely to dramatically alter pain levels for most people? Probably not.
Are there small subgroups who might notice a genuine pattern? Possibly.
Should we pay attention when patients tell us the moon affects them? Absolutely.
After all, we are not werewolves - but we are human. And humans are far more interesting than any tidy scientific model.
