Joint pain is not a problem reserved for older people.Young people are also often confronted with this phenomenon.In some situations, pain relievers help relieve unpleasant symptoms, in others, drug treatment is necessary, and in the most difficult cases, the help of a surgeon is required.
Causes of joint pain
The causes of joint pain can be mechanical or infectious.After an injury, no one is surprised by the pain when moving.But when pain occurs for no obvious 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 enter the synovial fluid, they infect nearby soft tissues.An infection can enter a joint in several ways:
- Due to prosthetics, due to poor quality sterilization of materials.
- Due to deep tissue damage due to 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 infection received during surgical procedures.
Few people associate stomach illnesses or bladder injuries 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 settle 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 inappropriate treatment of infectious diseases can lead to more serious consequences than one might imagine.For example, late-diagnosed tonsillitis or the patient's refusal to take prescribed antibiotics can lead to disability.This is due to the fact that streptococcus, which causes tonsillitis, 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 primary treatment, the immune system itself will destroy the joint tissue while fighting the infection.
Viral infections also affect the joints.These are diseases such as:
- rubella;
- hepatitis C;
- hepatitis B;
- herpes.
Humanity has not yet developed an effective and proven drug to combat 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 schedule.
How to relieve pain
Orthopedists use nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs as symptomatic treatment for joint pain.
If the pain is unbearable, you will need to contact a specialist who will install a blockade.This is a procedure that allows anesthesia to be injected into the joint itself and into the root 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 initial position.
What does knuckle cracking mean?
Cracking in the joints can be caused by several reasons.On the one hand, the crunch indicates that the intra-articular substrate is depleted due to a violation of the water-salt balance.On the other hand, a single crack, which can be heard when flexing or straightening a joint to its maximum position, is the sound made by gas bubbles bursting inside the joint fluid.
If there is a constant crunching noise when moving, you need to reduce the load on the moving part.It is best to eliminate the cause through the office of an orthopedic traumatologist.Self-administration of advertised drugs not only will not help, but can also be harmful.An x-ray will show the condition of the bones and interarticular cartilage.If it is found to be sold out, individual recommendations will be given.If you treat pain with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories when you have worn cartilage, you will only be able to reduce the sensitivity of 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 do not have a medical background or have not personally encountered bone and joint problems, the two concepts: arthritis and osteoarthritis seem exactly the same.The similarity of names is explained by the fact that all diseases associated with the joints have the root "art".The prefix “that” 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 the inflammation, meaning 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 that affects the interarticular cartilage.Prolonged, unexamined arthritis sooner or later leads to osteoarthritis.Inflammatory processes in the joint disrupt metabolism, as a result of which the tissues do not receive adequate nutrition and become thinner.This is where the destruction of cartilage tissue occurs.
Prevention of joint diseases
Proper nutrition ensures the health of all body systems.Sufficient protein, calcium, iron and vitamins provide cartilage tissues, ligaments, synovial fluid and bones with everything they need.
In addition, an active lifestyle will keep your muscles toned, thanks to which they will provide additional support to the entire skeleton in general, and to the joints in particular.And in order to protect yourself from dangerous viral infections that affect the joints, you need to get vaccinated in a timely manner.