Joint pain isn't just a problem for the older generation. Young people are often confronted with it. In some situations, pain relievers are spared unpleasant symptoms, in others, drug treatment is required, and in more difficult cases, the help of a surgeon is required.
Causes of joint pain
The causes of pain in the joints can be both mechanical and infectious. After an injury, no one is surprised by the pain when moving. But when the pain occurs for no apparent reason, the patient does not understand how to act to get rid of the problem.
However, a bacterial infection can cause pain. When pathogens enter the synovial fluid, they invade nearby soft tissues. An infection can enter a joint in several ways:
- As a result of prosthetics, due to the poor quality of sterilization of materials.
- Due to deep tissue damage in skin infections;
- After any surgical intervention carried out 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 an infection obtained during surgery.
Few people associate an upset stomach or bladder damage with knee or elbow pain. Nevertheless, there is a link. When the gastrointestinal tract is affected by bacterial infection, toxins and colonies of microorganisms enter the bloodstream and move around the body with the bloodstream. Some of them are deposited in the joint cavity. The 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 one might imagine. For example, a late-diagnosed sore throat or a patient's refusal of prescribed antibiotics can lead to disability. This is because streptococcus, responsible for angina pectoris, is recognized by the immune system along with the cells of 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, thus fighting infection.
Viral infections also affect the joints. These are diseases such as:
- rubella;
- Hepatitis C;
- Hepatitis B;
- herpes.
Mankind has not yet invented a drug that has been proven to work against 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 arm your immunity with vaccines. Vaccinations against rubella and hepatitis are included in the compulsory schedule.
How to relieve pain
For symptomatic treatment of joint pain, orthopedists use non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
In case of unbearable pain, it will be necessary to see a specialist who will block it. This is a procedure that allows you to introduce anesthesia into the joint itself and into the area near the root of the nerve endings. But this solution to the problem is temporary. After 10 to 16 hours, the patient's condition will return to its original position.
What does the cracking in the joints say?
Tightening of the joints can be caused by several reasons. On the one hand, the crunch indicates that the intra-articular substrate is depleted as a result of a violation of the water-salt balance. On the other hand, the punctual crackle that can be heard when flexing or extending the joint to its extreme position is the sound produced by the gas bubbles bursting inside the joint fluid.
If there is a constant crackle during movement, you need to reduce the load on the moving part. It is best to eliminate the cause through the office of an orthopedic traumatologist. Taking the medicines advertised by yourself will not only not help, but can also be harmful. X-rays will show the condition of the bones and inter-articular cartilage. If it turns out that it is exhausted, individual recommendations will be given. If, together with the developed cartilage, you independently clog the pain with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, then it will be possible only to reduce the sensitivity of the joint, while continuing to exploit 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 training or have not personally encountered bone and joint problems, 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 are rooted in "art". The suffix "it" speaks of an inflammatory process. This can be seen in other words: rhinitis - inflammation of the sinuses, bronchitis - inflammation of the bronchi; otitis media - an inflammation of the ear. At the same time, the term does not talk about the causes of the 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 the two cases are completely different. Arthritis is inflammation in a joint with no description of the cause.
Osteoarthritis is a disease in which the inter-articular cartilage is affected. Long-term unexplored arthritis sooner or later leads to osteoarthritis. Inflammatory processes in the joint disrupt the metabolism, due to which the tissues do not receive adequate nutrition and become thinner. Therefore, destruction of cartilage tissue occurs.
Prevention of joint diseases
Good nutrition ensures the health of all systems in the body. Adequate amounts of protein, calcium, iron, and vitamins allow you to provide your 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 will 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 need to be vaccinated in a timely manner.