Joint pain is not just a problem of the older generation. Young people often encounter this. In some situations, pain medications save you from unpleasant symptoms, in others, medication treatment is needed, and in the most severe cases, the help of a surgeon is needed.
Causes of joint pain
The causes of joint pain can be mechanical and infectious. After the injury, no one is surprised by the pain when moving. But when pain occurs for no apparent reason, the patient does not understand how to act to resolve the problem.
However, a bacterial infection can cause pain. When pathogens enter the synovial fluid, they attack nearby soft tissues. The infection can enter the joint in several ways:
- As a result of prosthetics, due to poor sterilization of the material.
- Due to deep tissue damage in skin infections;
- After any surgical intervention performed in violation of the rules of antiseptic treatment.
In addition to bacteria, the joint is also threatened by fungi. These microorganisms also enter the synovial fluid as a result of the infection obtained during the operation.
Few people associate stomach ailments or bladder damage with knee or elbow pain. Still, the connection exists. When the gastrointestinal tract is affected by a bacterial infection, toxins and colonies of microorganisms enter the bloodstream and move through the body through the bloodstream. Some of them are deposited in the joint cavity. Common risks are:
- diseases of the gastrointestinal tract;
- lesions of the urinary system;
- venereal diseases;
- rubella;
- angina;
- Infectious mononucleosis;
- pneumonia.
This suggests that improper treatment of infectious diseases can lead to more serious consequences than can be imagined. For example, a late-diagnosed sore throat or a patient’s refusal of prescribed antibiotics can lead to disability. This is due to the fact that the immune system recognizes streptococcus, which causes angina, in the same way as the cells of the heart valves and intra-articular tissue. If antibiotic therapy is not used as the main treatment, the immune system will destroy the joint tissue on its own, fighting the infection.
Viral infections also affect the joints. These are diseases such as:
- rubella;
- hepatitis C;
- hepatitis b;
- herpes.
Mankind has not yet invented a proven effective drug to fight the virus. The only exception is the drug Acyclovir, which is effective against the herpes virus. Other diseases of viral etiology can be defeated only by human immunity. To protect yourself from infections that can destroy joint tissue, you can arm your immunity with vaccinations. Vaccinations against rubella and hepatitis are included in the mandatory calendar.
How to relieve pain
As a symptomatic treatment for joint pain, orthopedists practice nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
In case of unbearable pain, you will need to visit a specialist who will block it. This is a procedure that allows you to introduce anesthesia into the joint itself and into the area of nerve endings near the root. But this solution to the problem is temporary. After 10-16 hours, the patient's condition will return to its original position.
What does a squeak in the joints say?
Crackling in the joints can be caused by several reasons. On the one hand, crunching indicates that the intra-articular substrate is depleted as a result of water-salt imbalance. On the other hand, the one-time creaking that can be heard when bending or stretching the joint to its extreme position is the sound created by gas bubbles bursting inside the joint fluid.
If there is a constant squeak during movement, it is necessary to reduce the load on the moving part. It is better to remove the cause in the office of an orthopedic traumatologist. Taking the advertised medications on your own will not only not help, but can also be harmful. An X-ray will show the condition of the bones and inter-articular cartilage. If it turns out to be exhausted, individual recommendations will be given. If you block the pain with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs on your own with the developed cartilage, it will only be possible to reduce the sensitivity in the joint, while it is still being used. Over time, thin cartilage becomes the cause of inflammation of the intra-articular tissue, which will lead to arthrosis.
Arthritis or osteoarthritis
For those who have no medical education or have not personally encountered bone and joint problems, the two concepts: arthritis and osteoarthritis look exactly the same. The similarity of the name is explained by the fact that all diseases related to the joints have the root "art". The suffix "it" speaks of an inflammatory process. This can be seen in other terms: rhinitis - inflammation of the sinuses, bronchitis - inflammation of the bronchi; otitis media - inflammation of the ear. At the same time, the term does not talk about the causes of inflammation, which means that there can be no diagnosis. Bronchitis, for example, can be both viral and bacterial. This means that the treatment tactics in both cases are completely different. Arthritis is an inflammation of the joint, with no description of the cause.
Osteoarthritis is a disease in which the inter-articular cartilage is affected. Prolonged unexplored arthritis sooner or later leads to osteoarthritis. Inflammatory processes in the joint disrupt the metabolism, due to which the tissues do not receive proper nutrition and become thinner. This causes destruction of the cartilage tissue.
Prevention of joint diseases
Proper nutrition ensures the health of all body systems. Adequate amounts of protein, calcium, iron and vitamins allow you to provide cartilage tissue, ligaments, synovial fluid and bones with everything you need.
In addition, an active lifestyle will keep the muscles in good shape, thanks to which they provide additional support to the entire skeleton in general, and the joints in particular. And in order to protect yourself from dangerous viral infections that affect the joints, you must be vaccinated in a timely manner.