The causes of severe joint pain. What to do if your joints hurt.
joint pain
Joint pain (or as it is called another way - arthralgia) is an important symptom in the diagnosis of many diseases. It was she who first said that serious changes had begun at the junction of bones. Joint pain is not always accompanied by swelling, bending, intense pain on feeling, or redness. The patient also does not complain of significant restrictions in the mobility of the large joints. It also turns out that even an X-ray does not show signs of inflammation. But this does not make joint pain an innocent symptom: it can signal serious organic damage and even pathologies that are not related to the state of the joint itself.
As statistics show, sharp pains in the joints of the arms and legs begin to bother every second person over the age of 40-50 years. In people who have already passed the 70-year mark, diseases of the musculoskeletal system are even more common - in 90% of cases.
Causes of joint pain
Age changes
Among the possible causes of pain are age-related joint changes: the cartilage tissue becomes thinner and loses its elasticity, which causes painful sensations and stiffness in movement. In addition, less and less synovial fluid is produced, which fills the "capsule" around the bone junction and lubricates the joint.
As a result, the joint surfaces can start to touch and the joint can wear out. Without adequate protection and cartilage support, osteoarthritis and other diseases that accompany acute pain can develop. The process of age-related joint changes is aggravated by inadequate diet, poor muscle tone, presence of previous injuries, sedentary lifestyle, or, conversely, excessive physical exertion. It is noteworthy that age-related joint discomfort often increases in the fall and spring.
Physical exercise
Increased physical activity can be considered an independent reason why even young people may experience severe or sharp joint pain. Intense training at the limit of capabilities and heavy physical work in one form or another have a negative effect on the musculoskeletal system. Even in the absence of injury, excessive exercise can cause disturbances in blood flow in the synovium around the joint. Because of this, the cartilaginous tissue no longer receives "nutrition" and becomes thinner without the possibility of normal regeneration.
Professional athletes and people in certain professions often face this problem - builders, miners, mechanics, etc.
Illnesses
Various diseases can also "reach" the joints. Thus, joint pain usually confirms the presence of rheumatic processes, in which the body's connective tissues are affected. In this case, the pain syndrome is pronounced in the early morning hours and tends to decrease at night. The person feels the strongest discomfort in the small joints of the hands and feet. In the morning, the patient often suffers from not being able to get up immediately and walk quickly - his body is rigid.
In some patients, joints ache after suffering an inflammatory disease of the musculoskeletal system. In that case, you just have to wait until the discomfort goes away on its own.
If the pain is paroxysmal, comes on unexpectedly, intensifies during the day, and persists for several days, while only one joint in the big toe hurts, one might suspect gouty arthritis, in which uric acid crystals accumulate in joint structures .
If the pain grows very slowly, the inflammatory process has affected the pelvic region, the knees, the symptoms intensify during physical work and weaken at night, then the presumptive diagnosis is "osteoarthritis deformans".
Infectious diseases are also among the causes of joint pain, for example, after intestinal illnesses, a person may experience discomfort where all the joints in the body ache. Mobility in them remains, but the unpleasant symptom lasts for several days.
If there are outbreaks of chronic infections in the human body, the joints can also ache.
The list of less common causes of joint pain is long and includes:
- climate dependence;
- heavy metal poisoning;
- long-term use of certain medications;
- post-allergic reactions;
- psychosomatic disorders.
Joint Pain Classification
There are several classifications of joint pain. According to the location criteria, there are:
- monoarthralgia - in this case, only one joint is affected;
- oligoarthralgia - different joints hurt at the same time, but no more than four;
- polyarthralgia - discomfort is felt in more than 4 joints in the body.
Due to the nature of the lesion, the pathology can be non-inflammatory and inflammatory. Post-inflammatory arthralgias and pseudoarthralgias are differentiated into separate groups.
Joint pain occurs under different circumstances. The person feels the initial pains right at the beginning of the movement - when trying to change the position of the limbs, getting up or walking at a different speed. Nocturnal pains are disturbing during the night rest period, when the person is at rest. This discomfort is often the cause of sleep disturbances and greatly impairs quality of life. Reflected pain can be seen in areas where, in fact, there are no painful deviations from the normal state. There are also mechanical pains that occur during or after certain exercises or activities.
Also, joint pain varies in nature. They are:
- opaque and sharp;
- permanent and transitory;
- weak, moderate and intense.
This classification is largely subjective and depends on the individual characteristics of the human body.
Joint Pain Diagnosis
To understand why the joints in your legs and arms ache, you need to see a doctor. The doctor prescribes a series of diagnostic procedures for the patient. To start with, lab tests are done:
- General blood analysis. It allows detecting deviations, taking into account the nature of the joint injury and the degree of its severity.
- Blood chemistry. In the case of joint inflammation, they look at levels of C-reactive protein, fibrinogen, total protein, seromucoid, diphenylamine reaction, as well as some other indicators that confirm a rheumatic diagnosis.
In addition, the following exams can be assigned:
- Radiography. It is mandatory for painful joints, as without photos the doctor cannot make differential diagnoses and assess the degree of damage to the skeletal system;
- Computed tomography. Used to study the location of injured or inflamed bone areas;
- Ultrasound examination is an accessible diagnostic method that describes the joint and surrounding tissues in detail;
- Densitometry. An additional type of diagnosis that shows how well bone density is preserved. Used to diagnose osteoporosis;
- Arthroscopy. During the procedure, a specialist visually examines the structure of the joint, its structure, takes a tissue sample from the desired area; radionuclide (radioisotope) scanning. Effective in the early stages of joint disease;
- Arthrography. The doctor injects special contrast agents into the joint (contrast cannot be used). A change in the initial picture allows him to assess the presence of affected sections in hard-to-reach parts of the joint.
If the doctor deems it necessary, a biopsy - a diagnostic sample of cells from the affected area - is performed.
Joint Pain Treatment
Arthralgia treatment will only be effective if doctors discover the cause of the symptom and establish the development of the disease it signals. To relieve inflammation, the patient may be prescribed:
- hondoprotectors - slow the progression of osteoarthritis, block further destruction of articular cartilage, reduce inflammation; an example of a well-known drug from this group is a drug that contains glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate, the components activate regenerative processes in the cartilage, due to which the pain gradually disappears, the patient's condition improves;
- non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs - eliminates pain, prevents the spread of inflammatory reactions, normalizes body temperature;
- muscle relaxants - designed to minimize skeletal muscle stiffness;
- antibacterial drugs - used for arthritis of an infectious nature;
- Vitamin and mineral complexes - Vitamins D, A, E, C, group B are necessary for normal joint function and rapid recovery. Calcium, magnesium and selenium are also important;
- hormonal drugs - steroids - are used for severe and severe inflammation, in the absence of the effectiveness of treatment with non-steroid drugs.
Parallel to taking pills, intramuscular and intravenous administration of medications, ointments and warming creams, analgesics and anti-inflammatory drugs can be prescribed to the patient.
If the pain is unbearable, a nerve block can be performed. During the procedure, powerful medications are used that help to forget the pain symptoms for a while.
Additional methods of treating joint pain include:
- physiotherapy exercises;
- massage;
- manual therapy;
- mechanotherapy;
- traction of joints through special equipment;
- diet.
From the physical therapy procedures, the patient is shown:
- shock wave therapy;
- laser therapy;
- phonophoresis;
- myostimulation;
- magnetotherapy and others.
A medicine containing glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate for joint pain
The drug line, which includes glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate, was created specifically to address joint health problems.
Preparations that include glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate belong to the group of chondroprotectors, that is, drugs that prevent the destruction of cartilage tissue in the joints, which can be associated with both age-related changes and increased physical activity, in addition to some other reasons. Chondroprotectors contribute to joint restoration, relieve inflammation and pain, and prevent the development of disease. The products in the line, which include glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate, not only relieve symptoms, but act directly on the cause of pain and joint stiffness.
Surgical treatment of pain syndrome
In difficult cases, it is impossible to eliminate painful sensations in the area of one or more joints using non-invasive methods. Then the patient is advised to undergo surgery. This can be:
- arthroscopic debridement - the surgeon makes small incisions and through them removes dead tissue from the joint cavity, the operation involves the use of modern endoscopic equipment;
- puncture - using a special needle, the doctor removes accumulated fluid from the joint;
- periarticular osteotomy - to reduce the load and improve the mobility of the affected joint, the doctor files the joint bones so that they grow together at a certain angle;
- A stent is a very serious operation that is only used if it is no longer possible to restore the joint, so a stent is installed.
The doctor decides which joint pain treatment method is right for a particular patient on an individual basis, taking into account age, history, symptoms, and certain other factors.
Prophylaxis
To prevent joint damage, you need to pay utmost attention to proper nutrition. All essential vitamins and minerals must be present in the daily diet. You should refuse junk food, limit meat consumption to 2-3 times a week with the transition to fish dishes - this has a positive effect on the functioning of the musculoskeletal system.
It's also important:
- don't cool too much;
- lead a moderately active lifestyle;
- refuse from bad habits;
- sleep at least 8 hours a day;
- take regular outdoor walks;
- avoid prolonged stay in one position.
If there is joint discomfort, an examination is needed. It is impossible to self-medicate if an inflammatory process is suspected.