Aches in the joints are unpleasant aching, pulling sensations in the area of \u200b\u200bthe articular joints, the intensity of which sometimes reaches the degree of pain. The symptom is combined with muscle aches, weakness, weakness, crunching, limited movement and may precede joint pain (arthralgia). Articular aches are accompanied by lesions of the musculoskeletal system, infections, diseases of the hematopoietic system, and vascular pathology. To identify the cause of the disorder, laboratory tests, ultrasound, radiographic and invasive methods are used. Treatment involves the treatment of the disease that provoked the aches.
Mild or moderate joint discomfort is not always a manifestation of the pathological process. Sometimes a symptom has natural causes. Transient aching joints are felt when wearing uncomfortable shoes, in weather-sensitive people - when the weather changes. At puberty, aching sensations in the shoulder and knee joints are caused by their insufficient blood supply due to accelerated bone growth.
With intensive training, hard work, overstrain of the muscular-ligamentous apparatus becomes a frequent cause of the symptom, less often it is caused by microtraumas of the cartilage, synovial membrane. A combination of aching joints and discomfort in the bones and muscles is typical. Joint and muscle discomfort occurs immediately after shock physical activity or against the background of long-term monotonous work with constant tension of the same muscle groups. Aches in the joints of the body proceed without temperature. With large overloads, a moderate violation of the general condition, weakness is possible.
The disorder can disturb up to several days and, with restriction of motor activity, gradually decreases until it disappears completely without any treatment. If the aches caused by sports or hard physical work are replaced by persistent soreness, swelling in the area of the wrist, elbow, shoulder, ankle, knee and hip joints, restriction of habitual movements, it is necessary to visit a doctor.
The causes of moderate aches in the bones and joints in the elderly are degenerative processes with loss of calcium, thinning of bone beams, impaired blood supply to cartilage and a decrease in the volume of intraarticular fluid. Mild discomfort is only the first manifestation of senile joint damage. Usually, periodic discomfort is noted after 45-5 years. By the age of 60-65, unpleasant aches occur even with minor loads, accompanied by stiffness of movements, stoop, shuffling gait, gradually replaced by pain.
Complaints about aching joints are more often presented in the second half of the gestational period. Pulling, aching discomfort, as a rule, is felt in the joints of the pelvis, lower extremities. It intensifies towards the end of the day, after prolonged standing or walking long distances. Night rest relieves the condition. Aches in the joints during pregnancy are provoked by such reasons as:
In people who are overweight, the pressure on the cartilage increases, which causes it to wear out faster. Large joints of the lower extremities and intervertebral joints are usually involved in the degenerative-dystrophic process. The disorder increases as obesity progresses. Discomfort in the joints first manifests itself in the form of aches without temperature by the end of the day, then the increasing destruction of cartilage leads to the development of deforming arthrosis, spondylosis, osteochondrosis with a sharp pain syndrome that limits the patient's motor activity.
Aches in the body and joints are one of the early (prodromal) signs of many SARS. The main causes of joint discomfort are intoxication of the body during the spread of viruses and bacteria, the accumulation of toxins, and the development of the inflammatory process. Usually the patient complains that the whole body aches, mild and moderate pain sensations are noted both in the articular joints and in the muscles and bones. The symptom is accompanied by weakness, weakness, insomnia, frequent awakenings. Simultaneously with signs of aches and general malaise, chills and hyperthermia are observed.
The most pronounced ache in the joints and body with influenza. Up to 50% of patients experience constant aching pain in the legs, arms, torso. The intensity of pain is so high that it becomes difficult for a person to perform the simplest actions - get out of bed, go to another room, raise a glass of water. The situation is aggravated by high (febrile) temperature and severe headaches. Sore throat, nasal congestion join after a few hours and even days. Less joint discomfort occurs with parainfluenza, adenovirus infection.
A feeling of aches in the joints is possible with an acute infectious lesion of the gastrointestinal tract - food poisoning, salmonellosis. Aching joint pains of varying intensity appear suddenly a few hours after eating contaminated foods, combined with a sharp rise in temperature, severe chills, and headaches. The aches are preceded by nausea, vomiting, soreness in the abdominal cavity, fetid diarrhea with mucous, and sometimes bloody impurities.
Aches in the joints can be a symptom of a wide range of diseases.
Aches in the joints are a harbinger of most diseases that occur with autoimmune inflammation of the connective tissue, including the articular tissue. Localization, prevalence, intensity of unpleasant sensations are determined by the characteristics of a particular collagenosis. General patterns are the involvement of certain groups of joints in the process, a gradual increase in sensations to excruciating debilitating pain, observed first during movement, and then at rest. Joint deformity is possible. The main systemic inflammatory causes of the disorder:
The pain syndrome in the initial stages of the disease is expressed slightly and is perceived as discomfort, aching in the joints of the legs, less often in the hands. The immediate cause of osteoarthritis is degeneration and destruction of cartilage tissue. Usually, pulling or aching sensations without temperature appear in adulthood and old age. Aches can begin earlier in the presence of occupational hazards (vibration, hard physical labor). Gradually, the joints become stiff, the person experiences severe pain and difficulty walking, caring for himself.
The causes of metabolic disorders, in which articular aches occur, are insufficient intake of vitamins, minerals, accelerated accumulation or excessive excretion of metabolic products. Unpleasant sensations are caused by inflammatory or dystrophic processes, have different severity and most often serve as a manifestation of such pathological conditions as:
In acute and chronic leukemia, widespread bone and joint aches, followed by pain, often occur even before noticeable pathological changes in the general blood test and other clinical symptoms - general malaise, night sweats, fever, loss of appetite, bleeding. Unpleasant sensations at first are periodic aching, then constant strong, exhausting the patient.
For lymphogranulomatosis and non-Hodgkin's lymphomas, a combination of aching joints with muscle discomfort, weakness, swollen lymph nodes, and other lymphoid formations is characteristic. Aching sensations are common, usually moderately pronounced. A short period of aching in the knee joint and thigh muscles, which intensifies at night, with loads turns into constantly increasing pain with lameness, is observed in osteosarcomas. Other joints in this pathology are affected less frequently.
Articular aches are provoked by mild traumatic injuries, in which damage to the ligaments surrounding the joint occurs, bruising of the soft tissues of the articular region occurs. Sharper pain disturbs when the menisci are damaged. The symptom is clearly associated in time with a blow, a fall, an awkward movement. Usually, discomfort is felt in one affected joint, less often spreads to adjacent parts of the body.
Possible causes of a feeling of aches in the joints that occur without fever or against the background of subfebrile condition are long-term infections. In patients suffering from chronic infectious and inflammatory diseases, joint discomfort is the result of intoxication of the body or a direct damaging effect on the tissues of the joints of microorganisms (usually streptococci, mycoplasmas, chlamydia). The appearance or intensification of aches may indicate an exacerbation of chronic tonsillitis, sinusitis, genitourinary infections, adnexitis, pyelonephritis.
Distinctive features of joint pain in common chronic infections occurring with intoxication are moderate severity of articular discomfort, gradual development, periodic intensification and weakening of symptoms. In patients suffering from tuberculosis and hematogenous osteomyelitis, the background for the development of aching pain is an increase in temperature to subfebrile figures, general malaise - fatigue, weakness, weakness. Without treatment, the condition of patients progressively worsens.
Taking certain medications can be complicated by aching, moderate soreness in the small joints of the hands. Unpleasant sensations are not accompanied by redness or deformation of the articular joints. Patients may complain of body aches, fever, skin rashes, and other manifestations of drug allergies. Discomfort quickly disappears after discontinuation of the drug that provoked it, less often special treatment of the complications that have arisen is required. Aches and mild arthralgia are caused by:
To establish why the joints and bones feel aching, it is necessary to consult a general practitioner or family doctor who will conduct an initial diagnosis and prescribe examinations by specialized specialists. Taking into account the nature of unpleasant sensations, the speed of their appearance, accompanying symptoms, to determine the cause of the disorder, the following are recommended:
A less common method of diagnosing the cause of articular aches is scintigraphy with the introduction of technetium, which accumulates in the affected tissues. In recent years, interest has been growing in joint thermography as a modern non-invasive method for recognizing inflammatory diseases, tumors, and circulatory disorders in the joints and periarticular tissues. With a decrease in the number of formed elements in the clinical analysis of blood, an extra-articular puncture of the bones is performed. Patients with articular aches without fever should consult a rheumatologist and an orthopedic traumatologist.
X-rays may be ordered to determine the cause of joint pain.
With aching joints associated with physical activity, special treatment is not required, a long rest with dosing loads is sufficient. Unpleasant joint sensations that occur during pregnancy usually disappear on their own after its completion or are corrected by weight control, taking vitamin and mineral preparations. Elderly and obese patients are shown a lifestyle change: adequate physical activity, a diet of appropriate calorie content with a sufficient content of plant products.
Aches in the bones, joints and muscles, combined with general malaise and fever, increased aching and pulling sensations to the degree of severe pain, the development of persistent pain syndrome are indications for visiting a doctor. To reduce joint discomfort caused by SARS, it is recommended to rest, drink enough water, rosehip decoctions, and dried fruits. Before the exclusion of serious diseases that provoke aches in the joints, self-treatment with painkillers, prolonged unsuccessful application of compresses, lotions, decoctions, etc. is unacceptable.
Correctly selected treatment, aimed at eliminating the cause of the disorder and individual links in the mechanism of its development, allows you to get rid of articular aches. Etiopathogenetic therapy is usually supplemented with symptomatic drugs that quickly reduce the severity of pulling and aching pain. The treatment regimen for diseases that occur with aching joints may include:
After an accurate clarification of the cause of aches and subsidence of acute inflammation, patients, except for those suffering from oncopathology, are prescribed physiotherapy and exercise therapy. A good anti-inflammatory and analgesic effect is provided by sessions of microwave and ultrasound therapy, electrophoresis, pulsed currents. In chronic pathology, physiotherapy is carried out for several months and is supplemented by balneotherapy.