Joint pain is a symptom inherent in many diseases of the musculoskeletal system. Painful sensations are experienced once or repeatedly by up to half of the world's population. More often, the development of pathological processes begins in the second half of life, but often worries young patients. Joint pain affects adjacent tissues, muscles and tendons. If left untreated, the problem progresses rapidly, leading to a significant reduction in quality of life and disability. Timely contact with medical specialists helps to make a correct diagnosis and start treatment, which completely relieves joint pain and eliminates its causes.
Causes of joint pain
Pain can be due to many reasons. Between them:
- Fresh or old injuries.
- Overweight.
- High physical or sports activity.
- Work involving prolonged standing.
- Passive lifestyle.
- Age.
- Genetic predisposition.
- Weakening of the immune system.
- Infectious lesions of the body.
- Arthrosis, arthritis, gout.
- Vascular spasms during stress or overload.
Types of joint pain
Joint pain during or shortly after an injury is a natural phenomenon. But the discomfort can be caused by a number of hidden reasons: inflammation, infections, overload and others. If you have recurring pain in the joints for no apparent reason and if the disease progresses, you should visit a specialist as soon as possible. Any intoxication of the joint is potentially dangerous.
| Kind of pain | Occurrence state | Description | Possible reason |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mechanical | It occurs in people of any age during physical activity or sports | Pain that disappears at rest, with self-massage, physiotherapy procedures | Metabolic disorders, previous injuries, dystrophic changes in the cartilage tissue of the joints |
| Launch | Marked at the beginning of the movement | Acute pain and limitation of joint mobility decrease 3-5 minutes after the start of physical activity | Arthrosis, osteochondrosis |
| night | Pulling pain of intermittent intensity | Appears at rest, during stress, overexertion, after consumption of smoked meats or pickles | Arthrosis, gout |
| Reflected | Twisting, aching, pulling pain | It spreads to the surrounding tissues. Occurs with sports activities, excess body weight | Diseases of the spine, arthrosis, arthritis |
Consultation with a doctor and diagnostics
- Chiropractor
- Vertebrologist
- Osteopath
- Neurologist
During the consultation, a thorough diagnosis is carried out. Based on the results of the consultation, the doctor gives detailed recommendations for treatment and, if necessary, prescribes additional diagnostics.
Diagnostic studies
Extended joint pain is fraught with extremely negative consequences. It spreads to adjacent tissues, affecting them pathologically. Large ulcerative lesions develop on the skin. The inflammation can affect the excretory system and the genitals. Limb mobility will decrease. The quality of life will drop significantly.
To avoid such a sad result, consult a general practitioner, orthopedist, rheumatologist or neurologist. Don't let the pain become constant, painful, deforming the organ and affecting your overall health.
In a well-structured diagnostic process, the doctor, after listening to the patient's complaints and a visual examination, collects an anamnesis and prescribes the following procedures depending on the reasonable suspicion of a specific disease:
- Blood tests. By changing some indicators, the cause of the disease can be immediately identified;
- X-ray of the affected area. One of the most accessible and reliable studies;
- Synovial fluid sample. Thickening or changes in properties indicate the development of arthritic changes;
- MRI. It provides a layer-by-layer visualization of the tissue structures of the joint and the area around it. Accuracy is improved by contrast. When planning a surgical intervention, such a diagnosis is mandatory;
- Ultrasound. Effective in inflammatory processes, systemic diseases, some types of injuries;
- Two-sided scanning. Makes it possible to assess the vascular environment of the organ and the quality of the blood flow in it;
- CT. It creates a three-dimensional image of the examined organ, which enables the functionality to be evaluated in motion.
A comprehensive examination of the body will help to get a complete picture of the disease, to establish an accurate diagnosis, to distinguish diseases with similar symptoms, and to start restorative and rehabilitation therapy.
Therapeutic therapy for joint pain
The treatment chosen will depend on the diagnosed disease, its severity and rate of progression. The earlier the causes of joint pain are identified, the easier the treatment and the better the results. In the early stages, therapeutic exercises and physical therapy are sufficient, but severe cases may lead to surgery.
The following methods are used in the treatment of joint pain:
- Manual therapy. Manual correction of musculoskeletal problems. Returning the joints and bones to a physiological position;
- Physiotherapy. Effective treatment with natural and artificially created factors. Light, water, magnetic or electric field, temperature effect, etc. are used. Painless procedures that activate the body's defenses;
- Massage. Mechanical effect on subcutaneous receptors, relieving spasms, tension, optimizing blood flow;
- Orthopedic shoes, insoles. Removal of foot deformities, correction of postural disorders, relief of joints;
- Reflexology. Placement of needles in biologically active points of the body. Improves microcirculation, blood pressure and reduces pain;
- Ozone therapy. Saturates the tissues with oxygen, accelerates the regeneration of damaged organs, increases personal immunity, cleans from toxic damage;
- Plasma therapy. Injection of one's own platelet-rich plasma restores joints, skin and other organs;
- Drug therapy. The pain syndrome is relieved by taking painkillers. Chondroprotectors are used to restore affected joints. Injections into the inner cavity of the joint are possible;
- Surgical intervention. The joints destroyed by the disease are replaced with modern prostheses that have identical functionality and a significant time resource. Indicated in severe cases of lesions.
Prevention of joint pain
To strengthen the joint tissues and maintain their health, it is recommended:
- perform sets of special exercises that support the optimal functionality of the joint;
- I'm going swimming;
- avoid overloading and hypothermia of the joint capsule;
- control your own weight, avoiding excess weight;
- drink 2-3 liters of water per day;
- minimization of alcohol consumption, smoking cessation;
- do regular industrial exercise during routine sedentary or standing work;
- quality and timely treatment of infectious and viral diseases. inflammatory diseases;
- attend an annual scheduled medical examination; if there are signs of discomfort in the joints, consult a doctor immediately.
Joint diseases: successful treatment in a modern clinic
For many years, the clinic's specialists have been providing effective treatment for various joint diseases, putting the most difficult patients on their feet, whom other doctors or clinics have refused. The guaranteed positive result is a natural result of using an integrated approach that combines classical therapeutic methods proven by many years of experience and modern innovative achievements of medicine in the field of joint pain. The professional arsenal of the clinic's doctors includes a huge number of rehabilitation and recovery programs that are constantly updated with the latest and most effective developments. For this purpose, doctors regularly go to training, retraining, seminars or conferences in the best clinics in other countries and get acquainted with the advanced achievements of therapy and surgery.
Patients at the clinic are offered a free consultation and diagnosis, drawing up a preliminary treatment plan. The results of the effectiveness of the therapy will not be late, after the first sessions patients note a significant reduction and even complete disappearance of unpleasant pain symptoms.
FAQ
Is it true that only the elderly have joint pain?
Joint pain can occur in people of any age. The reason for its appearance are many infectious diseases, bacterial infections, diabetes mellitus, chronic diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and many other problems of the body. Joint pain at a young age can be a consequence of dysplasia syndrome, where there is a weakness of the connective tissue.
Could joint pain be a reaction to the changing weather?
Yes, joint pain makes people addicted to time. Changes in pressure in the area where you live raise or lower intraosseous blood pressure. The increase results in excruciating pain. Pressure changes usually precede weather changes. In addition, diseased joints react strongly to heat or cold. Therefore, patients with gout will feel more comfortable in winter, and people with osteochondrosis in summer.
Are joint diseases inherited?
It is not the disease itself that is transmitted, but the predisposition to its occurrence. In the presence of concomitant factors, diseases or poor lifestyle, the genetic predisposition will give impetus to the development of the disease.
Should I give up sports if I have joint pain?
Professional sports with huge loads are contraindicated in joint diseases. But to keep your joints in good shape, you need a strong muscular framework, which can only be obtained through exercise. Therapeutic gymnastics, a set of exercises specially selected for a gentle effect on the affected joints, will help to significantly reduce pain and protect the organ from further destruction.
Do you need a special diet for joint diseases?
In patients with gout, it is necessary to exclude tomatoes and other products from the nightshade family from the diet, as they cause severe pain and provoke the development of inflammation. No special diet is prescribed for everyone else. But it is worth remembering that eating sweets, smoked meats and fats leads to excess weight, which is harmful to the health of the joints.