Joint pain is not only a problem for the older generation.Young people also often encounter this.In some situations, sedatives help relieve unpleasant symptoms, in others drug treatment is required, and in the most difficult cases, the help of a surgeon is necessary.
Causes of joint pain
The causes of joint pain can be either mechanical or infectious.After an injury, no one is surprised by pain when 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 pathogenic microorganisms penetrate the synovial fluid, they infect the nearby soft tissues.An infection can enter a joint in several ways:
- As a result of prosthetics, due to low-quality sterilization of materials.
- Due to deep tissue damage due to 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 mold.These microorganisms also enter the synovial fluid as a result of infection acquired during surgical interventions.
Few people associate stomach disease 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 placed in the joint cavity.Common risks include:
- diseases of the gastrointestinal tract;
- damage to 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 can be imagined.For example, tonsillitis diagnosed late, or the patient's refusal of prescribed antibiotics can lead to disability.This is because the streptococcus, which causes tonsillitis, is recognized by the immune system in the same way as cells from heart valves and intra-articular tissue.If antibiotic therapy is not used as the primary treatment, the immune system itself will destroy the joint tissue as it fights the infection.
Viral infections also affect the joints.These are diseases such as:
- rubella;
- hepatitis C;
- hepatitis B;
- herpes.
Mankind has yet to come up with an effective, proven drug that would fight 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 the human immune system.To protect yourself from infections that can destroy joint tissue, you can arm your immune system with vaccination.Vaccinations against rubella and hepatitis are included in the mandatory calendar.
How to relieve pain
Orthopedists use non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs as a symptomatic treatment for joint pain.
If the pain is unbearable, you will need to contact a specialist who will place a blockade.This is a procedure that allows you to inject anesthesia into the joint itself and into the radicular area 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 crackling in joints mean?
Crackling in joints can be caused by several reasons.On the one hand, cracking indicates that the intra-articular substrate is depleted as a result of a violation of the water-salt balance.On the other hand, a single click, which can be heard when you bend or straighten a joint to its maximum position, is the sound made by gas bubbles bursting within the joint fluid.
If there is a constant creaking noise during movement, you should reduce the load on the moving part.It is better to eliminate the cause through the office of an orthopedic traumatologist.Self-administration of advertised drugs will not only not help, but can also cause harm.An X-ray will show the condition of the bones and interarticular cartilage.If it turns out to be depleted, individual recommendations will be given.If you treat the pain with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs when the cartilage is tired, you will be able to reduce the tenderness in the joint just by continuing to use it.Over time, the thin cartilage causes inflammation of the intra-articular tissue, which will lead to osteoarthritis.
Arthritis or arthrosis
For those who do not have a medical education or have not personally encountered problems with bones and joints, the two concepts: arthritis and arthrosis look exactly the same.The similarity of the names is explained by the fact that all diseases related to joints have the root "art".The prefix "it" indicates an inflammatory process.This can be seen in the example of other terms: rhinitis - inflammation of the sinuses, bronchitis - inflammation of the bronchi;otitis - inflammation of the ear.However, the term does not indicate the causes of inflammation, which means that it cannot be a diagnosis.Bronchitis, for example, can be viral and bacterial.This means that the treatment tactics in both cases are completely different.Arthritis is inflammation in a joint, without a description of the cause.
Arthritis is a disease that affects the interarticular cartilage.Prolonged undiagnosed arthritis sooner or later leads to arthrosis.Inflammatory processes in the joints disrupt the metabolism, due to which the tissues do not receive proper nutrition and become thinner.This is where cartilage tissue is destroyed.
Prevention of joint diseases
Proper nutrition ensures health for all body systems.A sufficient 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 your muscles toned, 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 should be vaccinated at the right time.