Joint pain is not only a problem of the older generation.Young people also often face this.In some situations, painkillers help relieve unpleasant symptoms, in others, drug treatment is necessary, and in the most difficult cases, the help of a surgeon is needed.
Causes of joint pain
The causes of joint pain can be 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.Infection can enter the joint in several ways:
- As a result of prosthetics, due to poor-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 fungi.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 settle in the joint cavity.Common risks include:
- diseases of the gastrointestinal tract;
- damage to the excretory system;
- sexually transmitted diseases;
- rubella;
- angina pectoris;
- infectious mononucleosis;
- pneumonia.
This suggests that improper treatment of infectious diseases can lead to more serious consequences than one can imagine.For example, late-diagnosed tonsillitis or patient refusal of prescribed antibiotics can lead to disability.This is because the streptococci that cause tonsillitis are 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 will destroy the joint tissue itself as it fights 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 the human immune system.To protect yourself from infections that can destroy joint tissue, you can arm your immune system with a vaccination.Vaccinations 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.
If the pain is unbearable, you will need to contact a specialist who will install a blockade.This is a procedure that allows you to inject anesthesia into the joint itself and into the radicular 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 crunch in the joints mean?
Crackling in the joints can be caused by several reasons.On the one hand, crunching 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 crunch that can be heard when bending or straightening the joint to its maximum position is the sound made by gas bubbles bursting in the joint fluid.
If there is a constant grinding sound when moving, you need to reduce the load on the moving part.It is better to remove the cause through the office of an orthopedic traumatologist.Self-administration of advertised drugs will not only not help, but may harm.The X-ray will show the condition of the bones and interarticular cartilage.If it turns out to be out of stock, individual recommendations will be given.If you treat the pain with NSAIDs when you have worn cartilage, you will only be able to reduce the sensitivity in the joint 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 the 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 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 both cases are completely different.Arthritis is inflammation of the 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 the destruction of cartilage tissue occurs.
Prevention of joint diseases
Proper nutrition ensures the health of all body systems.The sufficient amount of proteins, calcium, iron and vitamins allows you to provide everything necessary for cartilage tissue, ligaments, synovial fluid and bones.
In addition, an active lifestyle will keep your muscles toned, thanks to which they provide additional support to the entire skeleton in general and to the joints in particular.And to protect yourself from dangerous viral infections that affect the joints, you should get vaccinated in a timely manner.