In recent decades, not only the elderly have complained of joint pain, but also this category of people whose age has only reached 35 years. Why this happens, there is no exact information, however, the problem is becoming more urgent every year and concerns an increasing number of people.
Introduction
If the joints hurt, then you should not attribute the problem to factors such as weather changes, magnetic storms, hypothermia, hard physical work. This problem has completely different causes.
So why do joints hurt, what causes joint pain, how to treat sick joints - this article is all about it.
Painful joints can be expressed in different ways: at first it can be only unpleasant sensations, then rattling (tingling), then numbness and tingling, and only then the pain begins to manifest itself in different ways: back pain, throbbing, burning. Joint pain is not a harmless phenomenon and its causes can be very different.
Causes of pain
Why there may be pain in the joint is judged by the nature of the pain and its location.
- With infectious diseases (tonsillitis, bronchitis), pain in the joint pulls, hurts, as a rule, not one joint suffers, but several at the same time.
- During poisoning of the body (for example, in case of mushroom poisoning, alcohol), pains affect many joints at the same time.
- With the exacerbation of chronic diseases (cholecystitis, tonsillitis), pains in the joints are of a flowing nature, that is, they can appear in one place and move to another.
- In inflammation the pain in the joints is sharp, shooting and piercing. As a rule, one joint hurts, in rare cases - several.
Thus, the causes of pain in the joints can be different: infectious, inflammatory, poisonous and chronic. At the same time, if the cause is not traumatic, rheumatological, orthopedic, then joint pain is far from the only symptom that will disturb. Other signs of human ill-health will mingle with these:
- Increase in body temperature.
- Fever;
- Catarrh?
- tearing;
- Loss of appetite;
- Ringing in the chest.
- Nausea and vomiting?
- Diarrhea;
- White coating on tonsils and tongue.
- loss of voice;
This is not a complete list of all those signs that may appear.
Pain with musculoskeletal problems
When various diseases of the musculoskeletal system become the reason why the joints hurt, it's time to figure out which joint is unhealthy and what to do about it.
Joint pain in traumatic (and close to them) causes is completely different from others. As a rule, the symptoms in such cases can be the following:
- Swelling and redness of the affected area.
- The sore spot is painful to the touch, hot.
- Pain in any particular joint.
- Fever.
- Numbness and stiffness in movements.
- Sharp piercing pain on motion and sometimes at rest.
- Deformation of the joint.
Thus, orthopedic causes of pain in the joints can be the following diseases:
- Rheumatism of the joints?
- Arthritis (polyarthritis);
- Arthropathy (polyarthritis);
- Rheumatoid arthritis?
- Arthritis;
- meniscal tear?
- Rupture of the posterior horn of the medial meniscus.
- Functional joint pain?
Brief information on diseases
Joint pain occurs for a variety of reasons, sometimes it can be a symptom of a non-rheumatic (traumatic) disease when it is caused by infections. In such cases, it makes no sense to treat the joints without eliminating the source of infection. The pain will stop, but then all the symptoms will return. As a rule, joint pain disappears when the infectious process is suppressed.
Another, the most common, reason why the joints hurt is the pathological processes that occur inside them or the injuries they have suffered.
- Rheumatoid arthritis (polyarthritis)- a disease, the catalyst of which are serious infectious diseases: tonsillitis, rubella, influenza, brucellosis. Large joints are usually affected, while the damage is symmetrical: two elbow or knee joints at the same time. Joint pain is accompanied by high fever and fever during the period of exacerbation, which practically does not happen with other joint diseases.
- Arthropathy (polyarthritis)- pathological processes leading to partial or complete (with advanced forms of the disease) cartilage destruction. Joint pain is accompanied by reduced motor activity of the joint. The symptoms of arthritis and arthritis are similar, but there is a difference: a sore spot with arthritis hurts when you try to move, which cannot be said for arthritis (with this, the joint hurts even at rest).
- Arthritis- degenerative processes occurring in the joint, associated with inflammation of the joint tissue and its deformation.
- Arthritis- violation of calcium and salt metabolism in the body, due to which growths appear in the joint, which become inflamed and painful. Features - pain at night.
- meniscal tear- Injury to the knee (or shoulder blade), associated with a violation of the integrity of the meniscus. The pain in such cases occurs in the knee and gives it back, when you move, you can hear a trauma in the joints.
- Functional joint pain occurs whennervous system disorders, there is no point in doing anything about the joint, since the problem must be sought elsewhere. When it is eliminated, the discomfort will pass.
This, of course, is an incomplete list of the reasons why the joints hurt, however, these reasons are the most common. What to do in such situations should be decided only by the doctor after a thorough examination and diagnosis.
Treatment
Treating joint pain is rather a secondary task, the first goal is usually to eliminate inflammation and the causes of its occurrence.
It is important for the patient to understand that self-medication will not help him in any way and will only delay the healing process, worsening the condition.All a person in pain needs to do is see a doctor.If the feeling of stiffness and pain in the joints happens to appear at night and does not let you sleep, then you can drink an anesthetic and rub with warming ointment as needed.
The doctor begins the treatment of joint pain only after a thorough examination, receiving the results of the examination and making a diagnosis.
Most orthopedic diseases are treated with traditional methods, and the use of surgical methods is carried out only as a last resort, when a long course of drug therapy has proven ineffective.
Medical treatment (conservative method)
Conservative methods are the most popular in this case.
No treatment for such diseases was complete without an appointment:
- Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, which are used in various dosage forms: ointments, injections, tablets, patches, suppositories. At the same time, it is not unusual for a doctor to decide to prescribe NSAIDs in several forms at the same time: injections and ointments, tablets and suppositories with ointments. The course of admission is very long, the terms of treatment are determined taking into account the individual characteristics of a person: age, physical. When prescribing, the presence of other diseases, contraindications and possible side effects should be taken into account.
- Painkillersit is used in various dosage forms. With a strongly severe pain syndrome, strong injections are prescribed, if it hurts slightly, then it is most likely that you can cope with pills, warming ointments, patches.
If NSAIDs did not help, then resort to:
- Corticosteroidswhich have both advantages and disadvantages. The advantages of treatment with these drugs are that the result can be achieved much faster than non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and the lack of hormones, which do not have a very favorable effect on the body as a whole and lead to unpleasant consequences in the form of hormonal imbalance, weight gain. Therefore, doctors are in no hurry to prescribe corticosteroids.
- Carboprotectors, which are injected into the affected area with the aim of optimizing the level of synovial fluid, normalizing friction, pressure and movement of the joint.
After the end of the course of drug treatment, you can continue it with folk remedies.
Correct the treatment well:
- Massage therapy?
- Gym, swimming?
- Physiotherapy.
An important role is played by the prevention of the recurrence of the disease; therefore, a course of prophylactic treatment is carried out in the form of taking vitamins twice a year.and NSAIDs.
Operational Methods
If conservative treatment turns out to be powerless and the joint still hurts, then surgery is prescribed, which operation will be performed, depending on the degree of tissue damage and the diagnosis. If it is arthropathy in the third stage, then it is worth doing prosthetics, that is, replacing the joint with an artificial one. If we are talking about a tear of the meniscus, then with the help of special punctures, it is sewn together. In any case, doctors will do everything possible to avoid surgery and the pain has stopped no matter what.
conclusion
Thus, the joint can hurt for various reasons, it can be infectious problems and neurological. Joint pain is the main cause of pain. Don't ignore the pain by trying to self-medicate or numb the pain with painkillers.
There are two main methods of tissue treatment:
- conservative method.
- Surgical method of treatment.
Quite rare are the cases when surgical methods immediately start treatment, without resorting to conservative methods. However, such cases also occur, for example, if a person becomes immobilized and the degeneration processes are at the stage where it is useless to treat with drugs. In such cases, it hurts so much that a person may lose consciousness from the intensity of the pain.