Joint pain is a symptom that exists 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 the pathological process 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 significant deterioration in quality of life and disability. Timely contact with a medical specialist helps to make the correct diagnosis and start treatment that really relieves joint pain and eliminates its cause.
Causes of joint pain
Pain can be caused by many reasons. Among them:
- New or old injuries.
- Overweight.
- High physical activity or sports.
- Work that involves prolonged standing.
- Passive lifestyle.
- Age.
- Genetic predisposition.
- Weakness of the immune system.
- Infectious wounds on the body.
- Arthrosis, arthritis, gout.
- Vascular spasm during stress or overload.
Types of joint pain
Pain in the joints during the injury or a short time after it is a natural phenomenon. But discomfort can be caused by a number of hidden reasons: inflammation, infection, overload and others. If you experience recurring pain in the joints for no apparent reason, and if the disease persists, you should visit a specialist as soon as possible. Any joint hangover is potentially dangerous.
| Types of pain | The circumstances of the incident | Description | Possible reasons |
|---|---|---|---|
| mechanical | Occurs in people of any age during physical activity or sports | Pain that disappears during rest, with self-massage, physiotherapeutic procedures | Metabolic disorders, previous injuries, dystrophic changes in joint cartilage tissue |
| Begin | Marked at the beginning of the movement | Sharp pain and limitation of joint movement, decreases 3-5 minutes after the start of physical activity | Arthrosis, osteochondrosis |
| night | Drawing pain of intermittent intensity | Occurs during rest, during stress, too much energy, after consuming smoked or pickled meat | Arthrosis, gout |
| Mirrored | Spinning, pain, pain pulling | Spread to surrounding tissue. Occurs during sports activities, overweight | Diseases of the spine, arthrosis, arthritis |
Doctor consultation and diagnosis
- Chiropractor
- Vertebrologist
- Osteopathy
- Neurologist
During the consultation, a comprehensive 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 tests
Advanced joint pain is fraught with very negative consequences. It spreads to adjacent tissues, affecting them pathologically. Large ulcerative lesions develop on the skin. Inflammation can affect the urinary system and genitals. Limb mobility will decrease. The quality of life will decrease significantly.
To avoid getting sad results, see a general practitioner, orthopedist, rheumatologist or neurologist. Don't let the pain become constant, painful, deforming organs and affecting your overall health.
With a well-organized diagnostic process, the doctor, after listening to the patient's complaints and visual examination, collects the anamnesis and prescribes the following procedures depending on the reasonable suspicion of a specific disease:
- Blood test. By changing some indicators, the causative disease can be immediately established;
- X-ray of the affected area. One of the most accessible and reliable studies;
- Synovial fluid sample. Thickening or changes in nature indicate the development of arthrosis changes;
- MRI. Provides layer-by-layer visualization of the joint tissue structure and surrounding area. Accuracy is enhanced by contrast. When planning surgical intervention, such a diagnosis is mandatory;
- Ultrasound. Effective in inflammatory processes, systemic diseases, some types of injuries;
- Duplex scanning. Makes it possible to assess the vascular environment of the organ and the quality of blood flow in it;
- CT. Creates a three-dimensional image of the organ being studied, allowing you to assess functionality in motion.
A comprehensive examination of the body will help to get a complete picture of the disease, establish an accurate diagnosis, distinguish diseases with similar symptoms, and start rehabilitation and rehabilitation therapy.
Therapeutic therapy for joint pain
The treatment chosen will depend on the disease diagnosed, its severity, and its rate of progression. The earlier the cause of joint pain is identified, the easier the treatment and the better the outcome. In the early stages, exercise therapy and physiotherapy are sufficient, but serious cases may lead to surgery.
The following methods are used in the treatment of joint pain:
- Manual therapy. Manual correction of musculoskeletal problems. Returning joints and bones to their physiological position;
- Physiotherapy. Effective treatment with natural and artificial factors. Light, water, magnetic or electric fields, temperature influences and others are used. A painless procedure that activates the body's own defenses;
- massageMechanical effect on subcutaneous receptors, relieves spasms, tension, optimizes blood flow;
- Orthopedic shoes, insoles. Eliminates leg deformities, corrects posture disorders, relieves joints;
- Reflexology. Inserting a needle into a biologically active part of the body. Improves microcirculation, blood pressure, and reduces pain;
- Ozone therapy. Saturates tissues with oxygen, accelerates the regeneration of damaged organs, improves personal immunity, cleanses from toxic damage;
- Plasma therapy. Injecting your 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. Injection into the internal cavity of the joint is possible;
- Surgical intervention. The joints destroyed by this disease are replaced with modern prostheses that have the same function and a significant time resource. Indicated for severe cases of lesions.
Prevention of joint pain
To strengthen joint tissues and maintain their healthy condition, it is recommended:
- perform a special set of exercises that support optimal joint function;
- go swimming;
- avoid overloading and hypothermia of the joint capsule;
- control your own weight, avoid excess weight;
- drink 2-3 liters of water every day;
- reduce alcohol consumption, quit smoking;
- perform regular industrial exercises during routine sedentary or standing work;
- treat infectious and viral diseases in a high-quality and timely manner. inflammatory diseases;
- attend an annual scheduled medical examination; if there are signs of discomfort in the joints, immediately seek the advice of a doctor.
Joint diseases: successful treatment in modern clinics
For many years, clinicians have been providing effective treatment for various joint diseases, putting the most difficult patients on their feet, which were rejected by other doctors or clinics. Guaranteed positive results are a natural result of using an integrated approach that combines proven classical therapeutic methods with years of experience and innovative achievements of modern medicine in the field of joint pain. The professional arsenal of the clinic doctor includes a large number of rehabilitation and rehabilitation programs, which are constantly updated with the latest and most effective developments. To do this, doctors often go for training, retraining, seminars or conferences to the best clinics in other countries, and get acquainted with the advanced achievements of therapy and surgery.
Clinic patients are offered free consultation and diagnostics, drawing up an initial treatment plan. The results of the therapy's effectiveness will not be long in coming, after the first session, the patient notes a significant reduction and even complete disappearance of uncomfortable pain symptoms.
Frequently asked questions
Is it true that only the elderly suffer from joint pain?
Joint pain can occur in people of any age. The cause of its appearance is many infectious diseases, bacterial infections, diabetes mellitus, chronic diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and many other body problems. Joint pain at a young age can be a result of dysplasia syndrome, where there is weakness of connective tissue.
Could joint pain be a response to weather changes?
Yes, joint pain makes people dependent on the weather. Changes in pressure in the area where you live increase or decrease intraosseous blood pressure. The increase leads to excruciating pain. Usually, pressure changes precede weather changes. In addition, diseased joints react strongly to heat or cold. Therefore, people with gout will feel more comfortable in the winter, and people with osteochondrosis in the summer.
Is joint disease inherited?
It is not the disease itself that is transmitted, but the tendency to its occurrence. In the presence of concomitant factors, disease or bad lifestyle, genetic predisposition will give impetus to the development of the disease.
Should I stop exercising if I have joint pain?
Professional sports with large loads are contraindicated for joint diseases. But to keep the joints in good shape, you need a strong muscular skeleton, which can only be obtained through physical training. Therapeutic gymnastics, a set of specially selected exercises to have 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 arthritis?
For gout patients, it is necessary to exclude tomatoes and other products of the nightshade family from the diet, because they cause severe pain and trigger the development of inflammation. For others, no special diet is prescribed. But keep in mind that eating sweets, smoked meat and fat leads to excessive weight gain, which is harmful to the health of the joints.