Joint pain is a symptom characteristic of many diseases of the musculoskeletal system. Painful sensations are experienced by up to half of the world's population once or many times. More often, the development of pathological processes begins in the second half of life, but it often worries young patients. Joint pain affects neighboring tissues, muscles and tendons. If left untreated, the problem progresses rapidly, leading to significant deterioration in quality of life and disability. Timely contact with medical specialists helps to make a correct diagnosis and start treatment that completely eliminates joint pain and eliminates its causes.
Causes of joint pain
Pain can be caused by many reasons. Among them:
- New or old injuries.
- Excessive weight.
- High physical or sports activity.
- Work that involves standing for long periods of time.
- 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
Pain in the joint during or shortly after an injury is a natural phenomenon. But anxiety can be caused by a number of hidden reasons: inflammation, infections, overload and others. If there are repeated pains in the joints without apparent reasons and the disease progresses, you should consult a specialist as soon as possible. Any joint intoxication is potentially dangerous.
| Type of pain | Occurrence state | Description | Possible cause |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mechanic | It occurs during physical activity or sports in people of all ages | Aching pain that passes during rest, self-massage, physiotherapeutic procedures | Metabolic disorders, previous injury, dystrophic changes in the cartilage tissue of the joints |
| It starts | It is marked at the beginning of the movement | Acute pain and limitation of joint mobility decreases 3-5 minutes after the start of physical activity | Arthrosis, osteochondrosis |
| At night | Pain of intermittent intensity | Occurs during rest, stress, overexertion, after consumption of smoked meat or pickles | Arthrosis, gout |
| was reflected | Bending, aching, pulling pain | It spreads to surrounding tissues. Sports activity occurs during excess body weight | Spine diseases, arthrosis, arthritis |
Doctor's advice and diagnosis
- Chiropractor
- Vertebrologist
- Osteopath
- Neurologist
A comprehensive diagnosis is made during the consultation. 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 extremely negative consequences. It spreads to adjacent tissues and has a pathological effect on them. 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.
In order not to get such a sad result, consult a general practitioner, orthopedist, rheumatologist or neurologist. Don't let the pain become constant, excruciating, deforming the body and affecting your overall health.
With a well-established diagnostic process, the doctor, after listening to the patient's complaints and visual examination, collects an anamnesis and, depending on the reasonable suspicion of a certain disease, prescribes the following procedures:
- Blood tests. By changing some indicators, the causative disease can be identified immediately;
- 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 arthrosis changes;
- MRI. It provides layer-by-layer visualization of the tissue structures of the joint and the area around it. Accuracy increases with contrast. Such a diagnosis is mandatory when planning surgical intervention;
- Ultrasound. It is effective in inflammatory processes, systemic diseases, some types of injuries;
- Duplex scanning. It allows to evaluate the vascular environment of the body and the quality of blood flow in it;
- CT. Creates a three-dimensional image of the studied organ, allows to evaluate functionality during movement.
A comprehensive examination of the body will help to get a complete picture of the disease, make an accurate diagnosis, distinguish diseases with similar symptoms, and 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 sooner the causes of joint pain are identified, the easier the treatment and the better the outcome. In the early stages, exercise therapy and physiotherapy are sufficient, but severe cases may lead to surgical intervention.
The following methods are used in the treatment of joint pain:
- Manual therapy. Manual correction of musculoskeletal problems. Restoration of joints and bones to a physiological state;
- Physiotherapy. Effective treatment with natural and artificially created factors. Light, water, magnetic or electric field, temperature effect, etc. Painless procedures that activate the body's own defenses;
- Massage. Mechanical effect on subcutaneous receptors, relieves spasms, tension, optimizes blood flow;
- Orthopedic shoes, insoles. Eliminate foot deformities, correct posture disorders, relax joints;
- Reflexology. Insertion of needles into biologically active points of the body. improves microcirculation, blood pressure and reduces pain;
- Ozone therapy. Saturates tissues with oxygen, accelerates the recovery of damaged organs, increases personal immunity, cleans from toxic damage;
- Plasma therapy. Injecting your own platelet-rich plasma regenerates joints, skin and other organs;
- Drug therapy. Pain syndrome is eliminated by taking painkillers. Chondroprotectors are used to restore affected joints. Injections into the internal cavity of the joint are possible;
- Surgical intervention. Joints destroyed by disease are replaced by modern prostheses with the same functionality and significant time resource. It is indicated for cases of severe lesions.
Prevention of joint pain
It is recommended to strengthen joint tissues and maintain their healthy condition:
- perform a special set of exercises that support optimal joint functionality;
- go swimming;
- avoid overloading and hypothermia of the joint capsule;
- control your weight by avoiding excess weight;
- drink 2-3 liters of water a day;
- minimize alcohol consumption, stop smoking;
- do regular industrial exercises during regular sitting or standing work;
- high-quality and timely treatment of infectious and viral diseases. inflammatory diseases;
- participate in an annual scheduled medical examination, if there are signs of discomfort in the joints, consult a doctor immediately.
Co-morbidities: successful treatment in modern clinic
For many years, the specialists of the clinic have been carrying out effective treatment of various joint diseases by putting the most difficult patients on their feet, who were refused by other doctors or clinics. A guaranteed positive result is a natural result of using an integrated approach that combines years of experience in the field of joint pain and proven classical therapeutic methods with modern innovative achievements of medicine. The professional arsenal of the clinic's doctors includes a large number of rehabilitation and recovery programs that are constantly updated with the latest and most effective developments. For this, doctors regularly go to the best clinics of other countries for training, retraining, seminars or conferences, and get acquainted with the advanced achievements of therapy and surgery.
Patients of the clinic are offered a free consultation and diagnosis by drawing up an initial treatment plan. The results of the effectiveness of the therapy will not last long, after the first sessions, patients note a significant reduction in uncomfortable pain symptoms and even complete disappearance.
Frequently asked questions
Is it true that only older people have 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 problems of the body. Joint pain at a young age can be a consequence of dysplasia syndrome, which is a weakness of the connective tissue.
Could joint pain be a reaction to changing weather?
Yes, joint pain makes people weather dependent. Changes in pressure in the area where you live can increase or decrease intraosseous pressure. The growth causes excruciating pain. Typically, pressure changes precede weather changes. In addition, diseased joints react strongly to heat or cold. Therefore, people suffering from gout will feel more comfortable in winter, and people with osteochondrosis will feel more comfortable in summer.
Are joint diseases hereditary?
It is not the disease itself, but the tendency to its occurrence. When there are co-factors, diseases or bad lifestyle, genetic predisposition will promote the development of the disease.
Should I give up sports if I have joint pain?
Professional sports with heavy loads are contraindicated for joint diseases. But to keep the joints in good condition, you need a strong muscular frame, which can only be achieved through physical exercises. Therapeutic gymnastics, a specially selected set of exercises to gently affect the affected joints will help to significantly reduce pain and protect the body from further destruction.
Do you need a special diet for joint diseases?
Tomatoes and other nightshade products should be excluded from the diet for gout patients, as they cause severe pain and lead to the development of inflammation. A special diet is not prescribed for everyone. However, it should be remembered that eating sweets, smoked meat and fats leads to excess weight gain, which harms the health of the joints.