Joint pain is not just a problem for the older generation. Young people often face this. In some situations, pain relievers are relieved of unpleasant symptoms, in others medication is required and in the most severe cases the help of a surgeon is needed.
Causes of joint pain
Causes of joint pain can be mechanical and infectious. After an injury, no one is surprised by the pain while 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 pathogens enter the synovial fluid, they invade nearby soft tissues. An infection can enter a node in several ways:
- As a result of prosthetics, due to poor quality sterilization of materials.
- Due to deep tissue damage in skin infections;
- After any surgical intervention performed in violation of the rules of antiseptic processing.
In addition to bacteria, the key is also threatened by mold. These microorganisms also enter the synovial fluid as a result of infection acquired during surgery.
Few people associate stomach ailments or bladder damage with pain in the knee or elbow. 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 blood flow. Some of them are deposited in the ankle cavity. Common risks are:
- diseases of the gastrointestinal tract;
- urinary tract lesions;
- venereal diseases;
- rubella;
- angina;
- infectious mononucleosis;
- pneumonia.
This suggests that improper treatment of infectious diseases can lead to more serious consequences than can be imagined. For example, a sore throat diagnosed late, or a patient refusing to be prescribed antibiotics, can lead to disability. This is due to the fact that streptococcus, which causes angina, is recognized by the immune system in the same way as cells from the heart valves and intra-articular tissue. If antibiotic therapy is not used as the main treatment, the immune system itself will destroy the joint tissue, fighting the infection.
Viral infections also affect the joints. These are diseases such as:
- rubella;
- hepatitis C;
- Hepatitis B;
- herpes.
Mankind has not yet invented an effective proven medicine that would fight 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 human immunity. To protect yourself from infections that can destroy joint tissue, you can arm your immunity with vaccines. Vaccinations against rubella and hepatitis are included in the mandatory calendar.
How to relieve pain
As a symptomatic treatment of joint pain, orthopedists practice non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
In case of unbearable pain you will need to go to a specialist who will block it. This is a procedure that allows you to insert anesthesia into the node itself and into the area near the root 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 the crack in the key mean?
Cracking of the joints can be caused by several reasons. On the one hand, the crackle indicates that the intra-articular substrate has been depleted as a result of a water-salt balance violation. On the other hand, the one-time crackle that can be heard when you bend or extend the joint in its extreme position is the sound made by gas bubbles exploding inside the joint fluid.
If there is a constant crack during movement, you need to reduce the load on the moving part. It is best to eliminate the cause through the office of an orthopedic traumatologist. Taking self-advertised medications will not only not help, but can also hurt. X-rays will show the condition of the bones and interarticular cartilage. If it turns out that he is impoverished, individual recommendations will be given. If, with the developed cartilage, you independently block the pain with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, it will only be possible to reduce the tenderness in the joints by continuing to use it. Over time, the thin cartilage becomes the cause of inflammation of the intra-articular tissue, which will lead to osteoarthritis.
Arthritis or osteoarthritis
For those who have no medical education or have not personally encountered problems with bones and joints, two concepts: arthritis and osteoarthritis seem to be 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 suffix "it" speaks of an inflammatory process. This can also be seen in other terms: rhinitis - inflammation of the sinuses, bronchitis - inflammation of the bronchi; otitis media - an inflammation of the ear. At the same time, the term does not talk about the causes of inflammation, which means that it can not be a diagnosis. Bronchitis, for example, can be viral and bacterial. This means that the treatment tactics in both cases are completely different. Arthritis is inflammation in a joint, without a description of the cause.
Osteoarthritis is a disease in which the interarticular cartilage is affected. Long-term unexplored arthritis sooner or later leads to osteoarthritis. Inflammatory processes in the joints disrupt metabolism, due to which the tissues do not receive proper nutrition and become thinner. Therefore, destruction of cartilage tissue occurs.
Prevention of joint diseases
Proper nutrition ensures the health of all body systems. The right amount of protein, calcium, iron and vitamins allows you to provide cartilage tissue, ligaments, synovial fluid and bones with everything you need.
Moreover, an active lifestyle will keep the muscles in good shape, thanks to which they provide additional support for the whole skeleton in general, and the joints in particular. And to protect yourself from dangerous viral infections that affect the joints, you need to be vaccinated in a timely manner.