Joint pain is not just a problem for the older generation. Young people often face this. In some situations, painkillers are saved from unpleasant symptoms, in others, medical treatment is needed, and in the most 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 the pain of moving. But when the pain appears 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. The infection can enter the joint in several ways:
- As a result of prosthetics due to poor sterilization of materials.
- Due to deep tissue damage in skin infections;
- After any surgery performed in violation of the rules of antiseptic treatment.
Apart from bacteria, the joint is also endangered by fungi. These microorganisms also enter the synovial fluid as a result of an infection acquired 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;
- sexually transmitted diseases;
- rubella;
- angina;
- Infectious mononucleosis;
- pneumonia.
This suggests that improper treatment of infectious diseases can lead to more serious consequences than one can imagine. For example, a late diagnosis of a sore throat or a patient's refusal of prescribed antibiotics can lead to disability. This is due to the fact that the streptococcus that 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 such as:
- rubella;
- hepatitis C;
- Hepatitis B;
- herpes.
Mankind has not yet invented a proven effective drug to fight viruses. 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. Vaccines against rubella and hepatitis are included in the mandatory calendar.
How to relieve pain
Orthopedists use nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs as a symptomatic treatment for joint pain.
In case of unbearable pain you will need to see a specialist who will block it. This is a procedure that allows you to inject anesthesia into the joint itself and close to the root zone 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 crunching in the joints say?
Joint crunch can be caused by several reasons. On the one hand, the crunch indicates that the intra-articular substrate is depleted as a result of water-salt imbalance. On the other hand, the one-time crunch that can be heard when the joint is bent or stretched to its end position is the sound produced by gas bubbles that burst inside the joint fluid.
If there is a constant crunch while moving, you need to reduce the load on the moving part. It is better to eliminate the cause through the office of an orthopedist-traumatologist. Taking the advertised drugs on your own will not only not help, but it can also be harmful. X-rays 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 continuing to use it. Over time, thin cartilage causes inflammation of the intra-articular tissue, which will lead to osteoarthritis.
Arthritis or osteoarthritis
For those who have no medical education or have not personally encountered bone and joint problems, two concepts: arthritis and osteoarthritis seem exactly the same. The similarity of the names 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 it can not be a diagnosis. Bronchitis, for example, can be both viral and bacterial. This means that the tactics of treatment in both cases are completely different. Arthritis is an inflammation of the joint without a description of the cause.
Osteoarthritis is a disease that affects the inter-articular cartilage. 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 proper nutrition and become thinner. Therefore, destruction of cartilage tissue occurs.
Prevention of joint diseases
Proper nutrition guarantees the health of all body systems. Adequate amounts of protein, calcium, iron and vitamins allow you to provide cartilage, 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 for the entire skeleton in general and for 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.