Arthralgia is the medical term for joint pain. Sometimes, joint pain can be accompanied by these other joint symptoms:
- red
- swelling
- stiffness
- joint warmth
- tender to touch
For the over age 40 crowd, chronic pain in your joints is very often a symptom of arthritis. Otherwise, when an injury is not to blame, joint pain is likely due to inflammation or infection.
Trying to figure out what might be causing your particular joint pain, without medical assessment, could prove to be very difficult. Various types of arthritis, numerous ongoing health conditions and a myriad injuries are connected to joint pain.
Possible causes for pain in your joint include:
- TMJ
- gout
- bursitis
- tendonitis
- bone spurs
- bone tumor
- myocarditis
- fibromyalgia
- endocarditis
- joint overuse
- scleroderma
- arthrofibrosis
- osteoporosis
- osteoarthritis
- Still’s disease
- relapsing fever
- spinal stenosis
- hypothyroidism
- juvenile arthritis
- ulcerative colitis
- aseptic necrosis
- temporal arteritis
- Wilson’s disease
- synovial sarcoma
- hemochromatosis
- Addison’s disease
- sickle cell disease
- obesity, overweight
- chickungunya fever
- Sjogren’s syndrome
- cervical spondylosis
- cartilage degeneration
- ankylosing spondylitis
- premenstrual syndrome
- polymyalgia rheumatica
- chondromalacia patellae
- chronic fatigue syndrome
- osteochondritis dissecans
- juvenile rheumatoid arthritis
- psoriasis ~ psoriatic arthritis
- inflammatory bowel syndrome
- injury ~ sprain, strain, fracture, cartilage tear
- autoimmune diseases ~ rheumatoid arthritis, lupus
Many of these causes for painful joints have adjoining symptoms.
Infectious diseases involving bacterial, viral and fungal Infections could be your cause for painful aching joints as well. Here’s an extensive sampling of infection affiliated circumstances that have symptoms of joint pain:
- polio
- typhus
- mumps
- syphilis
- measles
- influenza
- parvovirus
- brucellosis
- chickenpox
- viral hepatitis
- osteomyelitis
- common cold
- Lyme Disease
- West Nile virus
- bubonic plague
- rheumatic fever
- reactive arthritis
- schistosomiasis
- infectious arthritis
- Epstein Barr virus
- herpes esophagitis
- coccidioidomycosis
- tick borne infections
- invasive aspergillosis
- mosquito bite infections
- flea introduced infections
- African sleeping sickness
- disseminated histoplasmosis
- food poisoning ~ salmonella, E. coli
Additionally, drug related side effects can be a causer of joint pain, such as:
- heparin
- antithyroid meds
- warfarin ~ Coumadin
- some immunizations
- isotretinoin ~ for acne
- corticosteroid withdrawal
Persistent arthralgia that initially occurred contemporaneously with an infection requires a visit to your health care provider. Also, if the pain in a joint severely limits your mobility, then a doctor visit is prudent.
A couple of home care treatments for the relief of chronic painful joints include:
- rest
- massage
- warm baths
- stretching exercises
Taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medication (NSAIDs) can help relieve your joint’s pain:
Never give aspirin to a child.
Likewise, give these alternative treatments a go for certain causes of arthralgia :
- acupuncture ~ osteoporosis
- glucosamine & chondroitin ~ osteoarthritis
If you are overweight, healthy weight lose will certainly help ease your chronically painful joints!
