Causes of joint pain

There are many joints in the human body, such as the common hand joints, foot joints, shoulder joints, and wrist joints. At the same time, due to various reasons, such as work fatigue, mental stress and physical labor, these joints may become strained from time to time, and sometimes they may be very painful. At this time, all we can do is go to the hospital, check up and then receive treatment, because we don’t know the cause of the joint pain.

Everyone knows that in addition to the reasons mentioned above, there are many other reasons that can cause joint pain, some of which even doctors are not very clear about, so sometimes it makes it difficult to see a doctor. So let’s take a closer look at the causes that may cause joint pain.

1. Injury of the ligaments around the joint: The stability of the knee ligaments is relatively poor when the knee joint is slightly flexed. If it is suddenly subjected to external force and causes eversion or inversion at this time, it may cause injury to the medial or lateral collateral ligament. The patient will have a clear history of trauma, knee pain, swelling, bruising, and limited motion.

2. Cartilage damage is mainly meniscus damage of the knee joint. When the knee joint is slightly bent, if the knee is suddenly excessively internally rotated or externally extended (for example, when playing football, bending the calf, turning around and kicking the ball), it may cause a meniscus tear. Meniscus injury will cause an obvious tearing feeling in the knee, followed by joint pain, limited movement, limping when walking, and popping when the joint moves.

3. Synovitis: When the synovium of the joint is damaged due to trauma or excessive strain, a large amount of fluid will accumulate, which will increase the pressure inside the joint, leading to joint pain, swelling, tenderness, and friction and astringent sounds. For example, when the knee joint is actively and extremely extended, especially when the knee extension exercise is performed with a certain resistance, the pain below the patella will be aggravated. The pain is also significantly aggravated during extreme passive flexion.

4. Autoimmune system diseases Immune system diseases such as lupus erythematosus and psoriasis can also invade the joints and cause swelling and pain, which requires blood tests to assist in diagnosis.

5. Children's growing pains. This type of patients are mainly children in the growth period, and boys are more common. The pain is commonly found in the knee joint, hip joint, etc. This situation is a normal physiological phenomenon that occurs during children's growth and development. Because the bones of children in the growth stage grow relatively quickly, the growth and development of the periosteum and local muscles are not coordinated, which causes discomfort and joint pain. It is also believed that the pain is caused by a low-grade infection.

6. Traumatic joint pain is caused by some accident or incident that causes trauma (such as soft tissue injury, fracture and dislocation, etc.) to the joints of the shoulder, wrist, knee, ankle, etc. without any serious fractures, resulting in joint pain.

7. Suppurative arthritis has a history of infection in other parts of the body or a history of local trauma. The painful joints may be swollen, and the deep location may not be obvious, but there are symptoms such as increased body temperature, joint pain, inability to move, and increased blood count.

8. Osteoarthritis The onset age of osteoarthritis is mostly after the age of 40. Joint pain is worse in the morning and gets better during the day and night. Bone hyperplasia and bone spurs in the joints rub against surrounding tissues, causing joint pain.

9. Osteoporosis Elderly women experience pain in multiple joints throughout the body, feel extremely weak, and cannot walk with weight. If other diseases are ruled out, they may have osteoporosis.

10. Rheumatic and rheumatoid arthritis mostly occur in women aged 20 to 45. Rheumatoid arthritis often presents with migratory pain (the location of the pain is uncertain). Pain, swelling, and stiffness often occur in the wrist area. Joint sensitivity, swelling, and pain occur simultaneously and symmetrically (such as both wrists and both knees).

11. Gouty arthritis Gout pain is common in the thumb and first metatarsophalangeal joint (outside of the big toe). It is mainly due to purine metabolism disorder in the body induced by eating seafood and drinking alcohol. In the acute stage, patients experience local redness and swelling, severe pain, and unbearable pain; in the chronic stage, patients may experience pain, joint deformity, and other symptoms.

12. Pain caused by strain: Due to the relatively large amount of activity in the joints, the muscles and other soft tissues around the joints become strained, which in turn causes pain. Common examples include frozen shoulder, tennis elbow, etc.

13. Pain caused by tumors. The presence of tumors in local joints is also one of the important factors causing joint pain, which is more common in children and the elderly in the growth and development period. If joint swelling and pain occur, the pain is more severe at night than during the day, painkillers are ineffective, and there is no reasonable explanation, you should go to the hospital for further examination to rule out joint tumors.

Knowing this, when we encounter joint pain in the future in our lives, we can take effective measures in a timely manner and ensure that the disease is treated as soon as possible. Sometimes, we can give them correct advice even when the doctors are unaware of the situation, ensuring timely treatment of the disease and that the body recovers health as quickly as possible.