Joint pain is not just a problem for older generations. Young people are often faced with this. In some situations, painkillers are spared unpleasant symptoms, in others, drug treatment is required, and in more difficult cases, the help of a surgeon is needed.
Causes of joint pain
The causes of joint pain can be both mechanical and infectious. After an injury, no one is surprised by pain when moving. But when pain occurs for no obvious reason, the patient does not understand how to act to fix the problem.
However, a bacterial infection can cause pain. When pathogens enter synovial fluid, they invade nearby soft tissues. An infection can penetrate a joint in several ways:
- As a result of prosthetics, due to the sterilization of poor quality materials.
- Due to deep tissue damage in skin infections;
- After any surgical intervention carried out in violation of the rules of antiseptic processing.
In addition to bacteria, the joint is also threatened by fungi. These microorganisms also enter the synovial fluid as a result of infection obtained during surgery.
Few people associate stomach ailments or bladder damage with knee or elbow pain. However, there is a connection. When the gastrointestinal tract is affected by a bacterial infection, toxins and colonies of microorganisms enter the bloodstream and move through the body with the bloodstream. Some of them are deposited in the joint cavity. The joint risks are:
- diseases of the gastrointestinal tract;
- lesions of the urinary system;
- venereal diseases;
- rubella;
- angina pectoris;
- Infectious mononucleosis;
- pneumonia.
This suggests that improper treatment of infectious diseases can have more serious consequences than one might imagine. For example, a late diagnosed sore throat or a patient's refusal of prescription antibiotics can lead to disability. This is due to the fact that streptococcus, which causes angina, is recognized by the immune system 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 itself will destroy the joint tissue, fighting the infection.
Viral infections also affect the joints. These are diseases like:
- rubella;
- hepatitis C;
- hepatitis B;
- herpes.
Humanity has not yet invented a proven drug that fights viruses. The only exception is the drug Acyclovir, which is effective against the herpes virus. Other diseases of viral etiology can only be defeated by human immunity. To protect yourself from infections that can destroy joint tissue, you can build your immunity with vaccines. Rubella and hepatitis vaccines are included in the mandatory schedule.
How to relieve pain
As a symptomatic treatment for joint pain, orthopedists practice nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
In case of excruciating pain, you will need to consult a specialist who will block it. This is a procedure that allows you to introduce anesthesia in the joint itself and in the area near the root of the nerve endings. But this solution to the problem is temporary. After 10-16 hours, the patient's condition will return to its original position.
What does the creaking of the joints say?
Joint creaking can be due to a number of reasons. On the one hand, the crackling indicates that the intra-articular substrate is depleted as a result of a violation of the water-salt balance. On the other hand, the only crunch that can be heard when bending or extending the joint to its extreme position is the sound that gas bubbles make as they burst within the joint fluid.
If there is a constant creaking during movement, you should reduce the load on the moving part. It is best to eliminate the cause through the office of an orthopedic traumatologist. Taking the advertised drugs on your own will not only not help, but can also harm them. X-rays will show the condition of the bones and the articular cartilage. If it turns out to be out of stock, individual recommendations will be given. If, with the developed cartilage, you independently obstruct pain with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, it will only be possible to reduce the tenderness in the joint, while continuing to explode it. Over time, the thin cartilage becomes the cause of inflammation of the intra-articular tissue, which will lead to osteoarthritis.
Arthritis or osteoarthritis
For those who have no medical education or who have not had problems with bones and joints, two concepts: arthritis and osteoarthritis seem to be exactly the same. The similarity of the names is explained by the fact that all diseases associated with the joints have the root "art". The suffix "that" speaks of an inflammatory process. This can be seen in other terms: rhinitis - inflammation of the sinuses, bronchitis - inflammation of the bronchial tubes; otitis media: an inflammation of the ear. At the same time, the term does not speak of the causes of inflammation, which means that it cannot be a diagnosis. Bronchitis, for example, can be both viral and bacterial. This means that the treatment tactics in both cases are completely different. Arthritis is inflammation of a joint, without a description of the cause.
Osteoarthritis is a disease in which the articular cartilage is affected. Long-term unexplored arthritis sooner or later leads to osteoarthritis. Inflammatory processes in the joint disrupt metabolism, so the tissues do not receive proper nutrition and become thinner. Therefore, the destruction of cartilage tissue occurs.
Prevention of joint diseases
Proper nutrition ensures the health of all body systems. An adequate amount of protein, calcium, iron and vitamins allows you to provide cartilage tissue, ligaments, synovial fluid and bones with everything they need.
In addition, an active lifestyle will keep the muscles in good shape, thanks to which they provide additional support for the entire skeleton in general and the joints in particular. And to protect yourself from dangerous viral infections that affect the joints, you need to get vaccinated in a timely manner.