Treat Joint Problems with Care

There are many causes of joint problems. Joint pain can be due to some injury or some disease. Whatever the reason is joint problems are very irritating and troublesome. Physical trauma’s and fractures are the most easily detected causes for joint pain.

Causes of joint pain:

Arthritis: The most common joint problem is Arthritis. Arthritis is a joint problem that is caused due to inflammation of one or more joints. Two main common forms of arthritis are Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid arthritis. Osteoarthritis affects both large and small joints of the body which includes feet’s, back, hands, hip and knee. Osteoarthritis is a result of daily wear and tear of the joint however it can also happen due to some injury. Rheumatoid arthritis causes stiffness and pain in the joints. In this type of arthritis, one’s own immune system starts to attack the body tissues. It damages the joint lining and cartilage. It often affects knees, elbows, finger joints and wrists. Rheumatoid arthritis occurs in people above 20 years of age whereas Osteoarthritis is an old age problem. Septic arthritis is inflammation of a joint because of bacterial or fungal infection.

Bursitis: It is inflammation of bursae is another problem that affects joints. Bursae allow movement and help to reduce friction between moving joints. Bursitis can happen due to many reasons.

Infectious diseases: Infectious diseases can also cause joint problems. Mononucleosis is a viral infection in which a person suffers from sore throat, fever and swollen lymph glands especially in neck. It spreads by close contact and saliva. This infection causes the body joints to pain. Other infectious diseases that cause joint pain are Hepatitis, Influenza, Measles, mumps and Rheumatic fever.

Injury: Accidents that leads to sprain, ligament or cartilage fracture are one of the causes of joint pain. The affected area and the joint become painful and it persists for sometime depending on the impact of the trauma.

Prescribed drug effects: Some people suffer from joint pain when one medicine reacts with another. Some people get joint pain due to side effect of some drugs.

Sprains and physical stress: Physical stress puts strain on a joint causing pain. Athletes are prone to joint pain because of the excessive stress they put on them. When one overuses the joint it leads to sprain.

Early diagnosis of the exact reason of joint pain is very important. Once you know what the reason is, you can start with the medications and take other measures to reduce pain. An X-ray can help to diagnose the condition better.

Once you have the problem diagnosed, you can start with the suitable medications prescribed by the doctor. One can also opt for more natural treatments. Keep the joints moving, being inactive would make the joints to stiff. Avoid heavy activities like running, playing tennis, etc as they put too much pressure on the joints. Try to reduce the pain by working towards it; don’t accept it as a part of your day to day life.

Chilly winters also aggravate the joint pain. So keep yourself warm and avoid going out in cold winds. People with history of joint problems should avoid the intake of cold and sour food items.