Joint Pain: Causes and Treatment Options

4 November 2021

Orthopaedics

3763

Did you know that about one in four adults worldwide suffers from a certain form of joint pain on a regular basis? While being caused by inflammation in most cases, the condition might vary from mild discomfort after strenuous exercising to severe pain that does not allow a person to move freely.

But what exactly is joint pain? What are its main causes? And, finally, how can it be treated? Let’s figure it out together by going across the below-mentioned article.

A side note: In case you know exactly what is the reason for your joint discomfort and are currently looking for the necessary medication to relieve it, check out EuroMex, an online store where you can buy original orthopedic preparations for fair prices.

What Is Joint Pain?

Joint pain is a health condition that is characterized by discomfort in any part of a human body’s joint. Namely, a person might experience unpleasant feelings in:

• Bones;
• Muscles;
• Tendons;
• Ligaments;
• Cartilages.

A side note: A joint, in its turn, is a part of the human body where several bones connect with each other. For instance, the knee joint is a part where the lower leg bone connects to the thigh bone.

Depending on its intensity, joint pain might be:

• Mild (it usually appears after strenuous exercising and is rather temporary);
• Severe (it is a chronic pain that accompanies a person all the time in most cases).

The most widely-spread symptoms that are associated with joint discomfort are:

• Redness;
• Swelling;
• Tenderness;
• Weakness;
• Reduced motion;
• Etc.

Among the main joints where pain usually occurs are the ones that belong to:

• Shoulders;
• Elbows;
• Hips;
• Knees.

Joint pain is oftentimes diagnosed with the help of a physical examination performed by a health care practitioner. In some cases, an X-ray investigation, a blood test, or a sedimentation rate test might also be needed to define the exact reason for the discomfort.

What Are the Main Causes of Joint Pain?

When speaking about the main causes of joint pain, it is essential to mention that the condition might be caused by a whole bunch of reasons, starting from a physical injury and ending with a viral infection. So, let’s go through the most typical reasons for joint discomfort right away.

A side note: Only a certified health care practitioner is eligible to define the exact reason for your joint discomfort. So, contact your doctor in case you experience a certain level of discomfort in any of your joints.

An Injury

Probably the most easily definable cause of joint discomfort is an injury. Joint damage that is caused by bone tissue fracture, dislocation, or other physical impairment will be accompanied by pain in most cases.

A Viral Infection (Including COVID)

Joint pain might also be caused by a wide range of viral infections. The main reason for it is that oftentimes fever, which occurs because of the virus, makes joint movements quite painful.

As well, health care practitioners are still debating whether COVID might serve s a reason for pain in joints. Despite the fact that it is not the main symptom of the disease, a lot of patients with COVID claim to experience a certain level of discomfort in their bones or muscles. Therefore, joint discomfort is considered to be a distant symptom of the disease.

Osteo & Rheumatoid Arthritis

The most widely spread reason for joint pain is arthritis. When being more precise, either osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis causes discomfort in joints in most cases.

A side note: Arthritis, in its turn, is a disease that is characterized by a gradual breakdown of joints. Unless treated properly, it might lead to bone erosion, joint deformation, or even the necessity of total joint replacement.

Here is a short description of how different forms of arthritis affect joint tissues:

• Osteoarthritis (OA) is a disease that breaks the cartilage of a joint and, therefore, disables your bones from being connected painlessly;
• Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is also known as inflammatory joint disease, as it causes inflammation and, as a result, pain within the affected joint.

Therefore, joint pain is oftentimes the result of OA and RA.

A side note: If you would like to know more about arthritis diagnosis, check out the website of the Arthritis Foundation, which is a non-profit organization that runs complex research on the disease.

How to Treat Joint Pain?

There exist a number of methods of how to relieve joint pain, starting from traditional at-home treatment practices and ending with total joint replacements. Thus, how about checking out the description of the main ones?

A side note: Please keep in mind that the method to reduce pain in joints strongly depends on its main cause. Therefore, let a health care practitioner investigate your individual case, define the reason for your joint discomfort, and provide you with precise recommendations on how to treat it.

At-Home Treatment

Among the main at-home treatment practices of joint discomfort are the following ones:

• Applying ice or a heating pad to the affected joint surfaces several times a day;
• Taking a warm bath from time to time;
• Getting a massage;
• Keeping a healthy diet that will assist you in losing excessive weight;
• Etc.

Despite the fact that these methods might turn out to be inefficient in some cases, you might still give them a try after consulting with your health care practitioner.

Physical Therapy and Exercising

Another way to reduce discomfort in joints and restore normal joint function is to undergo special physical therapy. Namely, you might be prescribed certain stretching or physical activities to repeat from time to time.

Medication Intake (Including Pills and Injections)

As well, the intake of specific medicines might do a great job when it comes to joint discomfort relief. Depending on the cause of pain in your individual case, your health care practitioner might treat inflamed joints with the help of:

• Special pills;
• Into-joint injections (some of the injectables even have the power to imitate the natural joint fluid and, therefore, substantially reduce painful feelings).

A side note: Please take all pain medications with caution and remember that it is the task of a certified health care practitioner to prescribe them after checking out a thorough medical history of your individual case.

Joint Surgery

In the most difficult cases, you might need to undergo surgery on a damaged joint. Namely, a surgeon might either provide you with a sophisticated joint repair by means of withdrawing some fluid from the joint space or a total joint replacement. As a result, your knee, shoulder, elbow, or hip pain will be substantially reduced or eliminated.

A Bottom Line

All in all, there is a great number of reasons for joint discomfort (such as damage- or arthritis-related ones). At the same time, this discomfort might be treated with a variety of methods (starting from a warm bath and ending with a total joint replacement). Thus, consult with your doctor whenever experiencing any stay healthy at all times!