Joint pain is a symptom inherent in many diseases of the musculoskeletal system. Painful sensations are felt one or more times by almost half of the world's population. Most 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 significant deterioration in quality of life and disability. Timely contact with specialist doctors makes it possible to make a correct diagnosis and begin treatment that completely relieves joint pain and eliminates its causes.
Causes of joint pain
Pain can come from several reasons. Among them:
- Recent or old injuries.
- Overweight.
- High physical or sporting activity.
- Work involving prolonged standing.
- Passive lifestyle.
- Age.
- Genetic predisposition.
- Weakening of the immune system.
- Infectious lesions of the body.
- Osteoarthritis, arthritis, gout.
- Vascular spasms during stress or overload.
Types of joint pain
Pain in the joint during an injury or shortly after is a natural phenomenon. But discomfort can be caused by a number of hidden reasons: inflammation, infections, overload and others. If you experience recurring joint pain without visible causes and the disease progresses, you should consult a specialist as soon as possible. Any joint poisoning is potentially dangerous.
| Type of pain | Condition of occurrence | Description | Possible reason |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mechanical | Occurs in people of all ages during physical or sporting activity | Aching pain that disappears with rest, with self-massage and physiotherapy procedures | Metabolic disorders, previous injuries, dystrophic changes in the cartilage tissue of the joints |
| Departure | Marked at the start of the movement | Acute pain and limitation of joint mobility, diminishes 3 to 5 minutes after the start of physical activity | Osteoarthritis, osteochondrosis |
| Night | Pulling pain of intermittent intensity | Occurs at rest, during stress, overwork, after eating smoked meats or pickles | Osteoarthritis, gout |
| Reflected | Twisting, aching, pulling pain | Spreads to surrounding tissues. Occurs during sporting activities, excess body weight | Spinal diseases, osteoarthritis, arthritis |
Doctor's consultation and diagnosis
- Chiropractor
- Vertebrologist
- Osteopath
- Neurologist
During the consultation, an in-depth diagnosis is carried out. Based on the results of the consultation, the doctor gives detailed treatment recommendations and, if necessary, prescribes additional diagnostics.
Diagnostic tests
Advanced joint pain has extremely negative consequences. It spreads to adjacent tissues, affecting them pathologically. Large ulcerative lesions develop on the skin. The inflammation can affect the urinary system and genitals. Limb mobility will decrease. The quality of life will decrease significantly.
To avoid getting such a sad result, consult a general practitioner, orthopedist, rheumatologist or neurologist. Do not let the pain become constant, painful, distort the organ and affect your overall health.
With a well-structured diagnostic process, the doctor, after listening to the patient's complaints and visually examining, collects an anamnesis and prescribes the following procedures based on reasonable suspicion of a specific disease:
- Blood tests. By changing certain 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 properties indicate the development of osteoarthritis changes;
- MRI. Provides a layer-by-layer visualization of the tissue structures of the joint and the area surrounding it. Precision is enhanced by contrast. When planning a surgical intervention, such a diagnosis is mandatory;
- Ultrasound. Effective in inflammatory processes, systemic diseases, certain types of injuries;
- Double-sided scanning. Allows you to evaluate the vascular environment of the organ and the quality of blood circulation in it;
- CT. Creates a three-dimensional image of the organ studied, allowing assessment of functionality in motion.
A comprehensive examination of the body will help to obtain a complete picture of the disease, establish an accurate diagnosis, differentiate between diseases with similar symptoms and begin restorative and rehabilitation therapy.
Therapeutic therapy for joint pain
The treatment chosen will depend on the disease diagnosed, its severity and the speed of progression. The earlier the causes of joint pain are identified, the easier the treatment and the better the results. In the early stages, exercise therapy and physiotherapy 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. Return joints and bones to their physiological positions;
- Physiotherapy. Effective treatment with natural and artificially created factors. Light, water, magnetic or electric field, temperature influence and others are used. Painless procedures that activate the body’s own defenses;
- Massage. Mechanical effect on subcutaneous receptors, relieving spasms, tensions, optimizing blood flow;
- Orthopedic shoes, insoles. Eliminate foot deformities, correct postural disorders, relieve joints;
- Reflexology. Insert needles into biologically active points on the body. Improves microcirculation, blood pressure and reduces pain;
- Ozone therapy. Saturates tissues with oxygen, accelerates regeneration of damaged organs, increases 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. Injections into the internal cavity of the joint are possible;
- Surgical intervention. Joints destroyed by the disease are replaced by modern prostheses with identical functionality and a significant time resource. Indicated for serious cases of lesions.
Joint pain prevention
To strengthen joint tissues and maintain their health, it is recommended:
- perform special sets of exercises that support optimal joint functionality;
- to go swimming;
- avoid overload and hypothermia of the joint capsule;
- control your own weight, avoiding excess weight;
- drink 2 to 3 liters of water per day;
- minimize alcohol consumption, quit smoking;
- regularly perform industrial exercises during routine sedentary or standing work;
- treat infectious and viral diseases quickly and qualitatively. inflammatory diseases;
- attend a scheduled annual 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 offering effective treatment for various joint diseases, putting the most difficult patients back on their feet, who were refused by other doctors or clinics. A guaranteed positive result is the natural result of using an integrated approach combining classic therapeutic methods proven by many years of experience and innovative and modern advances in medicine in the field of joint pain. The professional arsenal of the clinic's doctors includes a large number of rehabilitation and recovery programs, constantly updated with the latest and most effective developments. To do this, doctors regularly attend training, retraining, seminars or conferences in the best clinics in other countries and get acquainted with advanced advances in therapy and surgery.
Patients of the clinic are offered free consultation and diagnosis, drawing up a preliminary treatment plan. The results of the effectiveness of the therapy will not be long in coming: from the first sessions, patients notice a significant reduction or even complete disappearance of uncomfortable painful symptoms.
FAQs
Is it true that only older people suffer from joint pain?
Joint pain can occur in people of any age. The cause of its occurrence 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, characterized by weakness of connective tissue.
Could joint pain be a reaction to climate change?
Yes, joint pain makes people dependent on weather conditions. Changes in pressure in the area where you live increase or decrease intraosseous blood pressure. The increase leads to aching pain. Generally, 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 suffering from osteochondrosis - in summer.
Are joint diseases hereditary?
It is not the disease itself that is transmitted, but the predisposition to its appearance. In the presence of concomitant factors, diseases or poor lifestyle, a genetic predisposition will give impetus to the development of the disease.
Should I stop exercising if I have joint pain?
Professional sports with huge loads are contraindicated for joint diseases. But to maintain joints in good shape, you need a solid muscular structure, which can only be obtained through physical exercise. Therapeutic gymnastics, a set of exercises specially selected to have a gentle effect on the affected joints, will help significantly reduce pain and protect the organ from further destruction.
Do you need a special diet for joint diseases?
For patients suffering from gout, it is necessary to exclude tomatoes and other products of the nightshade family from the diet, as they cause severe pain and provoke the development of inflammation. For others, no particular diet is prescribed. But we must not forget that the consumption of sweets, smoked meats and fats leads to excessive weight gain, which is detrimental to joint health.