Description
Most adults will at one point in their lives experience joint pain. At times joint pain is known as arthralgia. Arthritis (Osteoarthritis) is the most common manifestation of joint pain and it affects the largest number of people suffering joint pain. It could also be defined as degenerative arthritis due to its wearing out of joint cartilage; this condition causes the rubbing against each other of bones, which results in function loss, stiffness, swelling of joints. Symptoms commonly begin at the age of forty and progress steadily. The joints in the body that bear the largest weight suffer the most from osteoarthritis, such as the lower back, knees and hips. Obesity and family history are the two largest indicators of this condition.
Causes of Joint Pain
Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disorder, which causes stiffness and pain in joints, RA strikes twenty five to fifty year old women. The immune system works abnormally with this type of arthritis, leading to an inflammation of joint linings as well as additional internal organs. The inflammation may result in limited movement, pain and joint deterioration. Since it is a systematic condition (flowing freely following immune cell flow in the blood) it may strike all joints symmetrically on either side of the body. It typically affects small feet and hand joints although it can affect any joint.
Bursitis is a condition confused frequently with arthritis because it exhibits the same method of contraction. It is manifested in the joint inflammation region and not on the actual joint. It causes pain; tenderness, stiffness and discomfort within the joint area, which contains bursa (fluid filled, small sacs near joints) become inflamed because of excessive trauma, pressure or movement. The hips, knees and shoulders are common joints that are afflicted by this condition.
Gout may cause severe and sudden swelling, tenderness and pain attacks, as well as joint redness. It is as a result of excessive uric acid buildup that crystallizes in the joint areas leading to inflammation. Striking typically after age fifty because of deteriorating kidney performance, lessening uric acid excretion, it typically attacks one joint per attack, which is often the big toe. When not treated, it could spread to other joints. Other conditions that may cause joint pain are Osteoporosis, Fibromyalgia and Lupus, which all cause stiffness, overall fatigue and aching and tender, inflamed and swollen joints.