Joint pain: causes, symptoms and treatment – Arthralgia

Joint pain (arthralgia) has many causes, including degenerative-overload changes and inflammatory diseases of the joints. It is important to determine whether the joint pain is “mechanical” or “inflammatory” and whether there are other disturbing symptoms that require urgent consultation with a doctor.

What is joint pain(arthralgia)?

Joint pain is pain localized within the joints, resulting from the pathology of the joint itself, the surrounding structures (such as ligaments, tendons, or synovial bursae), and sometimes for other reasons not directly related to the joint. It is one of the most common ailments. If it passes by itself within a few days, it is usually not serious. However, it should be remembered that it can be a symptom of various diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis or systemic lupus erythematosus . Therefore , if joint pain does not go away within a few days or is accompanied by other disturbing symptoms (e.g. joint swelling, fever, morning stiffness of the joints, etc.), do not delay the visit to the doctor .

Types of joint pains

Joint pain is divided into:

1. inflammatory (there is joint swelling, warmth and redness),
2. non-inflammatory (no swelling, redness of the joint and its warmth).

In addition, joint pain can be single-joint involving a single joint or poly-joint involving five or more joints. This categorization takes place in arthritis.

What could be the causes of joint pain?

There are many causes of joint pain – they can be roughly divided into non-inflammatory (caused e.g. by mechanical damage) and inflammatory (related to inflammation in the joint and periarticular tissues).

Most often, joint pain is associated with overloading the surrounding structures (tendons, ligaments and joint capsules), e.g. after intense physical work or exercise.

Osteoarthritis is a common cause of joint pain in elderly people. However, it should be remembered that also in this age group there are inflammatory diseases, such as rheumatic polymyalgia or rheumatoid arthritis.

Joint pain in younger people, especially if it is accompanied by other disturbing symptoms, should always give rise to the suspicion of inflammatory joint disease and requires further diagnosis.

When making the diagnosis, your doctor will ask you to determine :

• The duration of the symptoms
• Was there a specific cause causing joint pain, e.g. trauma, overload, repetitive microtrauma (professional work, recreational sports), other diseases
• How many joints and which joints hurt? Is the pain symmetrical (occurs in the same locations on both sides of the body)?
• What is the nature of the pain?
  • “Mechanical”-caused by the movement of the joint and is most severe when starting an activity (for example, pain in the hip when getting up from a chair); symptoms do not occur at rest.
  • “Inflammatory”-typically symptoms are greatest in the morning, they can wake the patient from sleep; the pain gradually wears off as you move around.
• Is it accompanied by swelling and limited mobility of the joint and stiffness, especially after waking up (morning stiffness)?
• Are there any other disturbing symptoms (unjustified weight loss, fever , tiredness, increased sweating at night)?
• Are there any other diseases (e.g. thyroid or liver diseases, intestinal disorders, inflammation of the eye structures, skin changes e.g. psoriasis)?
• Whether there has been a family history of joint disease is unknown.

What should you pay attention to in case of joint pain?

Urgent contact with a doctor is necessary if:

• Joint pain is accompanied by swelling, redness, or warmth of the joint and limitation of its mobility.
• In the morning, you have trouble getting around for more than an hour.
• There are so-called general symptoms such as fatigue, fever, muscle pain, loss of appetite, and weight loss.
• Joint pain worsens at night and awakens you from sleep.
• Do you experience other disturbing symptoms?

How to deal with joint pain?

Treatment of joint pain depends on its cause. The following methods will help reduce joint pain.

Relieving the pond . In case of acute pain in the joint, it is necessary to limit its overactivity so as not to cause further damage. After severe discomfort has subsided, exercises should be performed to strengthen the joint and improve its mobility (preferably under the supervision of a physiotherapist).

Ice packs (you can buy special reusable gels at the pharmacy) reduce the symptoms of arthritis. They are performed 2-3 times a day for 15 minutes, be careful not to cause frostbite to the skin.

Painkillers (paracetamol, orally or topically applied non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) – they can be used on their own for several days, without exceeding the recommended doses. If the pain persists despite using them, contact your doctor.

When to see a doctor?

It should be remembered that joint pain can be a symptom of various joint diseases that require timely diagnosis and treatment. Therefore, do not delay going to the doctor if your joint pain does not improve within a few days or if it is accompanied by other disturbing symptoms.

What tests should be done to determine the causes of joint pain?

The doctor should decide which tests should be performed (based on the information collected from the patient and the symptoms found during the examination of the joints). In the diagnosis of rheumatological diseases, various laboratory tests (most often ESR, CRP, and morphology; see: Laboratory tests used in rheumatology ) and imaging tests (usually X-ray or ultrasound of the sick joint are ordered at the beginning) are performed. In some cases, it is necessary to perform other tests, e.g., joint puncture (in order to collect the synovial fluid for analysis), computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging.

How is joint pain treated?

In order to properly treat joint pain, it is important to identify the cause of the pain. The treatment of individual rheumatic diseases is discussed in the descriptions of these disease entities.

What do patients ask most often?

Homemade or natural remedies for muscle and joint pain

Wandering joint pain–causes

Joint pain that occurs sequentially in different locations can be both the beginning of an inflammatory joint disease, such as rheumatoid or psoriatic arthritis , and the result of degenerative and overload changes in the musculoskeletal system (especially in elderly people, symptoms worsen when the weather changes). However, it can occur in the course of various diseases and therefore requires consultation with a doctor and differential diagnosis. An increasingly recognized cause of migrating joint pain is fibromyalgia syndrome , which can occur either spontaneously or accompany chronic diseases of the musculoskeletal system, as well as secondary to previous Lyme disease.

Pain in muscles and joints and neurosis

Many studies confirm the influence of stress as one of the factors predisposing to the development of inflammatory diseases of the musculoskeletal system (chronic stress changes the functioning of the immune system) and a subjective, increased perception of pain stimuli. Therefore, the key element of the treatment of musculoskeletal diseases, in addition to properly selected pharmacotherapy, is reducing stress, taking care of regular physical activity and correct body weight.

How joints hurt with Lyme disease

Early joint involvement may occur early in the course of Lyme disease, occurring on average 3–6 months after the tick bite. There is typically pain in one or more joints, often around the site of the sting/migrating erythema, which is why the knee or ankle joint is most commonly involved. Arthritis can also occur, even with a lot of exudate, requiring puncture of the joint and decompression of the fluid. Later, Lyme disease can manifest itself as paroxysmal joint pain for weeks to months, followed by periods of improvement. Pain in the joints may be accompanied by chronic fatigue, pain, and muscle weakness. It should be remembered that even after successful treatment of Lyme disease, fibromyalgia syndrome may develop, which is characterized by migratory pain in the musculoskeletal system; antibiotics are not used in its treatment,