Joint pain is not a disease, but a symptom, and can have very many causes. If they do not pass after a few days or if you notice swelling, fever or stiffness, you should consult your doctor.
What are joints?
Joints are the connections between bones. They are quite complex in structure and are susceptible to injury. The most commonly experienced joint pains appear as knee pains, elbow pains or back pains and are usually the result of trauma or excessive physical activity. The tendons, ligaments and joint capsules surrounding the joint are then overloaded.
What can joint pain mean?
Joint pain is often a symptom of inflammation occurring in the tissues. They can also be caused by an injury, such as dislocation or sprain. They often bother seniors, accompanying many illnesses. At joint pains can affect a wide variety of people, both young and old. They can result from other more serious illnesses or an unhealthy lifestyle. They often occur in people who are overweight and obese, who hunch over and who spend a lot of time in one position.
Symptoms of joint pain
Joint pain extends to the joint itself, but also to the surrounding area. Often, we may also notice swelling, redness or increased warmth around the joint. It may also be accompanied by fatigue, muscle pain, fever or stiffness of the joint. Pain in the joint area can not only cause discomfort, but can also make daily life difficult.
Causes of joint pain
Joint pain most commonly occurs in the knees, wrists, fingers, shoulders and hips. If the cause of the pain is an injury, the pain is usually felt in a specific joint, along with swelling or redness. Chronic pain involving several joints is most likely a symptom of a disease.
It also happens that joints hurt as a result of taking certain medications. These include: converting enzyme inhibitors, methyldopa or cyclosporine.
Overload joint pain is often the result of obesity and being overweight. Or overstraining during physical activity. The most common cause of such strains is running, which places particular strain on the knee joints.
Joint pain - what diseases can it be a symptom of?
Joint pain can occur as a result of:
- viral infections - e.g. influenza, complaints of pain These disappear when the illness is cured,
- bacterial infection such as gonorrhoea or Lyme disease,
- osteoarthritis,
- rheumatoid arthritis, in which the small joints of the hands and wrists, tendons and tendon sheaths usually hurt,
- gout - the toe of the foot, one of the joints of the hand or the knee joint usually hurts,
- psoriatic arthritis,
- juvenile idiopathic arthritis
- systemic lupus erythematosus,
- cancer of the bone or cartilage,
- inflammatory bowel disease.
Statistically, obese people are at greater risk of joint pain. This is not only because of the excessive weight burden on the joints, but also because of multi-morbidity.
Joint pain - treatment
The treatment of joint pain depends on its cause. Depending on it, the following are used:
- analgesic and anti-inflammatory preparations,
- delivery injections,
- cold compresses,
- limiting physical activity to relieve pressure on the joint,
- physical therapy,
- joint strengthening exercises.
Many people are helped by hydrotherapy and light, stretching exercise and general physical activity. Swimming, cycling and joint-stretching gymnastics are most beneficial for joint pain.
Joint pain - home remedies
There are also natural, home remedies for joint pain. When treating it, it is worth reaching for ointments of various types of plant ointments. Ointments made from arnica, rosemary, horse chestnut or green-lipped mussel work best, as the plants effectively combat inflammation. They have analgesic, anaesthetic and also anti-inflammatory effects.
