What should you do when your joints in your arms and legs hurt?

It is believed that the strongest pain is toothache. Although the same can be said for earaches and headaches. Joint pain is no exception. It can make a person suffer, deprive him of sleep and appetite.

The pain is sharp or dull, stabbing, aching, at night or during the day - all these are symptoms of joint diseases.

Prevalence of joint pain

There is no clear pattern between the severity of joint pain and its prevalence. The knee joint can hurt more than the shoulder, elbow and hand at the same time. Sensations in the spine can be painful with widespread osteochondrosis or ankylosing spondylitis. But more often people are bothered by pain in the extremities.

Both arms and legs experience significant stress throughout life - weight, action, injuries. Aches, pains in the joints and their deformation are inevitable that accompany age-related changes in the musculoskeletal system.

Mechanism of pain

Why do joints hurt is a question that even a doctor finds it difficult to answer unequivocally.

The mechanism of pain when the musculoskeletal system is damaged is quite complex. Most often, these symptoms are caused by the following processes:

1. Inflammation of the joints, or polyarthritis.The inflammation itself causes the production of substances that can cause pain. In addition, they increase the sensitivity of pain receptors to repeated exposure. That is why the usual load on the inflamed joint leads to a sharp pain reaction.
2. Joint swelling.Its increase in volume looks like a joint tumor. Edema tissue exerts mechanical pressure on joint structures, causing discomfort and worsening the severity of the process.
3. Dystrophic changes.This can be called bone and cartilage wear. With age and constant stress, joint function deteriorates. The production of synovial fluid is interrupted and the gliding of the articular surfaces becomes difficult. Their constant irritation from friction stimulates the growth of subchondral bone. Such marginal bone growths are called osteophytes and can cause real suffering to a person. They look like elongated lumps in the joints. Osteophytes are often injured and this causes their inflammation, completing the pathological circle.
4. Trauma and post-traumatic complications.Serious injuries: bruises, dislocations, fractures do not pass without leaving a trace. Even if the injury heals, joint pain and stiffness may remain for the rest of your life. Doctors often come across complaints of pain in damaged joints. They usually get worse when the weather changes or at night.
5. Exchange disorders.Calcifications are deposited in tendons and ligaments due to metabolic disorders. Their violation leads to a sharp pain syndrome.

These pathological processes in the joints develop in diseases of the musculoskeletal system.

Diseases of the musculoskeletal system

The number of joint diseases is large. There are rare forms - isolated throughout the world, and there are those that are found in most people. The prevalence of these diseases explains why everyone has joint pain at least once in a while.

It is important to know the main diseases of the musculoskeletal system, so as not to ignore dangerous symptoms, but to start treatment and cure the disease in time.

Osteoarthritis

Doctors constantly hear from elderly patients that they have pain in the joints of the arms and legs, in the lower back and in the neck. In addition to pain, they complain of joint deformity, difficulty walking and inability to do homework.

These symptoms are characteristic of osteoarthritis of the joints. In the case of bone and cartilage deformation, it is called deforming osteoarthritis. Deformation of osteoarthritis in severe form can make a person completely disabled.

Osteoarthritis affects every joint – big and small. It is only important that they experience enough stress.

If you overload the joints, osteoarthritis will develop several years earlier, especially if there are predisposing factors. This includes:

• Continuous load. It can be redundant or monotonous. Static loads play an important role in the development of arthrosis changes.
• Hypothermia or overheating.
• Injuries - bruises and fractures, subluxations and dislocations.
• Excess weight. Obesity is one of the most important risk factors for the development of deforming osteoarthritis.
• Poor nutrition.
• Lack of movement.
• Subsequent infections and inflammations of the joints are polyarthritis.

Degenerative diseases of the shoulder girdle

The shoulder joint is the most mobile joint in the body, with the maximum range of motion. It bears dynamic loads, so degenerative changes in the structures of the shoulder girdle are rare.

They usually develop in old age. Marginal bone growth and articular cartilage atrophy occur. If the degenerative changes in the shoulder joint are pronounced, then the cause should be sought. This usually occurs due to a fracture or osteochondromatosis.

Pain in the shoulder joints is painful and constant; stiffness is often accompanied by degenerative changes in adjacent structures:

1. Calcification deposition in the supraspinatus tendon and painful abduction arch syndrome. With this pathology, pain in the joint occurs when you try to move the shoulder along a certain arc. If you change the angle of inclination, the pain disappears.
2. Frozen shoulder syndrome. This condition is characterized by severe stiffness of the shoulder girdle. It occurs as a result of prolonged immobilization of the shoulder - when you apply a bandage, providing rest for the arm with thoracic radiculitis.

No significant deformation of the elements of the shoulder girdle is observed. Symptoms and complaints related to damage to adjacent structures, rather than deforming osteoarthritis of the shoulder, usually come first.

Osteoarthritis of the elbow joint

The possibility of developing degenerative changes in the elbow joint is low. It increases in old age and in people who are engaged in certain professions. Monotonous physical activity has a negative impact on joint processes, especially when exposed to vibration.

Osteoarthritis deformans of the elbow region is often found in tennis players, masons and miners, blacksmiths and foundry workers.

Joint pain is usually dull, aching and intensifies with exercise. No significant joint deformation is observed. Sometimes, under the influence of provoking factors, joint inflammation is combined with osteoarthritis, a painful swelling appears in the elbow area, and the pain bothers you even at rest.

Deforming osteoarthritis of hands and finger joints

In recent years, the diagnosis of osteoarthritis of the hands has become the answer to the question of why finger joints hurt at a young age. This disease is rapidly regenerating. Already at the age of 30-35 years, with complaints of pain in the joints of the fingers, signs of the first degree of deforming osteoarthritis can be seen on an X-ray. The reasons for this are different:

1. The number of professions that put stress on the joints of the hands and fingers is increasing - programmers, typists and just active computer users. And mainly young people are involved in this.
2. Working in hypothermic conditions. These are tram and trolleybus drivers in winter, builders and peasants.
3. Absence of normal dynamic loads on finger joints. Few people try to do gymnastics, especially therapeutic exercises.
4. Associated diseases - joint inflammation.

The joints of the fingers and hands are deformed over time, and an inflammatory tumor can be detected in the area of the phalanges with the development of polyarthritis. Movements in them become painful and difficult. Joint pain is intermittent at first, but then changes to constant, dull or aching.

Degenerative diseases of the feet

The joints of the legs are more susceptible to degeneration, since their main load is static. Weight and static loads are the main causes of the development of deforming osteoarthritis of the feet. In this area it appears in the following forms:

• Hip joint damage - coxarthrosis.
• Damage to the knees with the formation of gonarthrosis.
• Dystrophic leg diseases.

Coxarthrosis

Coxarthrosis is a common and dangerous disease. Initially, a person pays attention to symptoms such as joint pain, creaking, clicking when walking. All this is temporary and does not affect the quality of life much. As the disease progresses, the stiffness worsens and there is difficulty when trying to abduct or adduct the leg.

Joint pain can be excruciating, debilitating and can bother you at any time of the day. In the morning, my movements are limited, I have to do hip exercises in order to get out.

Gonarthrosis

Throughout life, the knees experience loads that significantly exceed a person's weight. This inevitably leads to the development of degenerative processes in them. If a person suffers from obesity of at least the first or second degree, the deformation of the knees will occur much faster. In third and fourth grade, deforming osteoarthritis is more likely to develop at a young age.

Osteoarthritis of the knee joints has its own characteristics. Why do joint pains occur so often in this area? In addition to the proliferation of bone pillars and cartilage degeneration, calcium crystals are deposited in the joint cavity. A kind of calcification deposit is formed. This disease is called calcium pyrophosphate crystal deposition.

At first they can be found only in the thickness of the cartilage, then on its surface, in the joint cavity, tendons and even muscles.

The deposition of calcium crystals worsens the course of deforming osteoarthritis. The disease manifests as aching pain, which can turn into acute pain when calcified. The mobility of the legs is significantly limited. In the knee area, deformed articular surfaces, bone growths are visible and dense joints can be palpated.

Dystrophic changes in the joints of the legs

The joints of the legs are less susceptible to deforming osteoarthritis. An exception is the metacarpophalangeal joint of the first toe. Its deformations occur in almost every person after 55-60 years. In women, it is deformed at an earlier age. The reasons for this are the abuse of narrow, uncomfortable shoes with heels.

In addition to the discomfort and unaesthetic appearance of a deformed finger, a person experiences severe pain in the joint. As the osteophytes grow, elongated bones form around the toe, making it difficult to wear even the widest shoes. Continuous injuries of osteophytes cause inflammation of the finger joints - polyarthritis develops. The situation can be complicated by the addition of an infection.

Inflammatory diseases of the musculoskeletal system

Inflammation of the joints, which affects several groups of joints at the same time, is called polyarthritis. If only one joint is inflamed, this form will be called monoarthritis. Symptoms will depend on the type of inflammation or infection that caused it:

1. Joint pain.It is often acute - burning or shooting. If the cause of arthritis is an infection, the inflammation becomes purulent. In this case, the pain will be pulsating and very strong. In chronic and subacute forms, joint pain will resemble the arthrosis variant.
2. Change shape.In an acute process, an inflammatory tumor forms in the joint area, the color of the skin changes and the temperature rises. If a bacterial infection occurs, general symptoms of intoxication appear - high fever, chills, and health deteriorates significantly. The disease is especially difficult to tolerate in cases of polyarthritis.
3. Function damaged.Movement in an inflamed joint is significantly limited due to pain and fluid accumulation in the joint cavity. This swelling, like an inflammatory tumor, mechanically impedes movement.

Causes of arthritis

The causes of arthritis are varied. These diseases are usually divided into main groups:

• Infectious.They develop when the joint is directly affected by an infection, such as Lyme disease. The infection can be viral or bacterial, penetrates from the outside or from a neighboring affected organ, bone. Arthritis caused by bacterial infection is particularly severe.
• Reactive.In this case, the inflammatory process develops as a reaction to an infection in the past or present. These include damage to the musculoskeletal system after flu, colds and urogenital infections. An important sign is the connection with the infection.
• Autoimmune.Sometimes a person's immune system begins to destroy its own cells. The manifestations of such diseases are different, but the articular syndrome is usually expressed more clearly. The most common autoimmune pathology is rheumatoid arthritis. It is characterized by severe joint deformities with constant pain.

Autoimmune polyarthritis cannot be cured, but must be stopped to keep the disease at an early stage.

Treatment of joint diseases

What should you do if you are diagnosed with a joint disease? Should I take medications, antibiotics, or can I limit myself to folk remedies? Only a doctor can answer all questions correctly and he will prescribe the appropriate treatment.

ethnoscience

Folk remedies have been prescribed for a long time - both by healers and by modern doctors. They are quite capable of relieving inflammation and eliminating pain, reducing swelling in the affected area.

Among the folk remedies, the cabbage leaf is considered the undisputed leader. Applying it cold or in a compress with honey on an injured joint can relieve inflammatory manifestations and relieve the condition. Plantain leaves, chopped mushrooms and vodka liqueur are also used.

The arsenal of folk remedies is diverse, but you must remember that they can only treat mild forms of the disease and always under the supervision of a doctor.

medicaments

Medicines used in the treatment of joint diseases are aimed at all parts of the pathological process. Main groups of drugs:

1. Analgesic and anti-inflammatory.Usually these are drugs from the same group. Since the main symptom of joint diseases is pain, its relief is the doctor's first priority. A good effect is achieved when local remedies are used.
2. Steroid hormones and cytostatics.It is strictly forbidden to take these drugs without a doctor's prescription. They are used for all serious autoimmune processes and are designed to relieve specific inflammation in the body. Without hormonal drugs, it is impossible to get rid of pain and inflammatory tumor in rheumatoid polyarthritis. They also prevent joint deformities.
3. Antibiotics.They are prescribed if the cause of arthritis is a bacterial infection. Broad-spectrum antibiotics that penetrate well into bone tissue are used. Sometimes, if the pathogen is persistent, the doctor can treat the infection using several groups of antibiotics. This is justified even if the disease is caused by a mixed infection. It is necessary to remember that antibiotics are strong drugs with individual side effects and strictly follow the doctor's instructions during the treatment process.
4. Preparations that protect and restore cartilage.It is impossible to treat chronic polyarthritis and deforming osteoarthritis without chondroprotectors. For this purpose, both single drugs - chondroitin or glucosamine - and combined ones are used. There is a broad evidence base for the use of chondroprotectors based on many clinical trials.
5. Intra-articular injections.This is the best way to deliver the medicine directly to the site of the disease. Typically, hormonal anti-inflammatory drugs are injected into the joint cavity. In recent years, hyaluronic acid has also been used for intra-articular injections.

Physiotherapy

Joint diseases are not worth treating with medication alone. The integrated use of physiotherapeutic techniques (magnetotherapy, electrophoresis) and physical therapy significantly increases the chances of recovery.

Orthopedic devices are also used to limit movement in the affected joints. These include orthoses and splints. The purpose of these devices is to reduce the load on the diseased joint.

Surgical treatment

A radical cure for advanced osteoarthritis is endoprosthetics. Only this method is able to replace a destroyed joint with a synthetic one, restoring its full range of motion.

Endoprosthesis replacement is a treatment option in situations where conservative therapy is ineffective.