Joint Pain Causes
What Causes Joint Pain?
If you are suffering from pain in your joints, which may even be hindering you from getting the amount of sleep you need, be aware that your health care provider can recommend the most effective treatment when the exact cause is pinpointed. In this respect, joint pain is similar to a chronic digestive upset, since the causes can be both varied and puzzling.
Here are some of the ways in which joint pain originates:
- It may be due to physical “wear and tear,” such as that caused by tendonitis, some type of sprain, damaged cartilage, a fracture, or some other injury. More specifically, you may be suffering from osteoarthritis—a degenerative condition that eventually leads to the loss of the cartilage surrounding the affected joint.
- It may result from an autoimmune disorder, and the victim’s body will actually produce antibodies that conflict with its own body tissues, such as Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) or rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
- The pain may also be due to inflammation of the joint caused by septic arthritis, which may be localized or carried to that joint through the bloodstream from another source of infection. Rubella, Lyme disease, mumps, hepatitis, influenza, rheumatic fever, and measles are also causes of joint inflammation.
- Inflammation and pain may also be caused by a metabolic disorder—including gout and pseudo-gout—which deposits harmful material into the joints. In addition, bone diseases, such as Paget’s disease and osteomylitis (along with cancers and tumors located close to a joint) can result in diffused joint pain.
Obtaining a diagnosis
See your physician as preventive measure because with a condition such as osteoarthritis or RA, you may be able to prevent the situation from worsening. Once you discover the cause of your joint paint, you will be able to apply the most beneficial treatment. You should also take quick action if any of the following apply:
- The pain has migrated to other joints, become worse, or persisted for more than three days.
- The pain is related to fever.
- You are experiencing progressive weight loss.
Your doctor will want a detailed medical history to diagnose the possible causes of your joint paint and make an overall evaluation of your health. This will be followed by a physical examination to assess your joint mobility, reflexes, rate of motion, and the presence and extent of any swelling, if that applies in your case.
You may also be asked some or all of the following questions:
- Where is the pain located, and when did it begin?
- Did the pain begin slowly and gradually become worse, or was it sudden and sever?
- Did you have an injury, illness, or fever before the pain began?
- Is the pain constant or intermittent?
- What seems to ease the pain, and what makes it worse?
- Is the joint stiff, and are there any tasks you are unable to perform because of the pain?
- Does anyone else in your family have a similar problem?
To complete the diagnosis, your doctor may order additional tests, including X-rays, blood tests, and a joint (synovial) fluid test.