Researchers say a strong marriage could help arthritis patients have less joint pain and better mobility than couples who don't share emotional stability.

The study, published in the Journal of Pain, had confirmed past theory that people who were single faced higher problems than those who are happily married. The study analyzed personal lives of 225 patients with rheumatoid arthritis. It found 114 people of that had happy marriage and they scored lower pain than those whose marriage life were not going smooth.

“These findings suggest the links between being married and health depend on the quality of the marriage, not simply whether or not someone is married,” said research leader Dr Jennifer Barsky Reese, from the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, USA. “There is something about being in a high-quality marriage that seems to buffer a patient’s emotional health.”

“Science shows that the more social support you have the less likely you are to experience negative stresses which can add to pain," said Professor Cary Cooper, an expert in psychology and health at the University of Lancaster. “If you are in a bad marriage, then the pain that you feel, whether it is emotional or physical is going to be greater.”