Aches in the joints

Aches in the joints- These are unpleasant aching, pulling sensations in the area of the articular joints, the intensity of which sometimes reaches the level of pain. The symptom is combined with muscle aches, weakness, weakness, crunching, limited movement and may precede joint pain (arthralgia). Joint 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 treating the disease that caused the pain.

Causes of aching joints

Mild or moderate joint discomfort is not always a manifestation of a pathological process. Sometimes the symptom has natural causes. Transient aching of the joints is felt when wearing uncomfortable shoes, and in weather-sensitive people - when the weather changes. During puberty, aching sensations in the shoulder and knee joints are caused by insufficient blood supply due to accelerated bone growth.

Significant physical activity

During intense training or heavy work, a common cause of the symptom is overstrain of the musculo-ligamentous apparatus, less often it is caused by microtraumas of the cartilage and synovium. A typical combination of aches in the joints and discomfort in the bones and muscles. Joint and muscle discomfort occurs immediately after impact physical activity or against the background of prolonged monotonous work with constant tension in the same muscle groups. Aches in the joints of the body occur without fever. With large overloads, a moderate violation of the general condition and weakness is possible.

The disorder can last up to several days and, with limited physical activity, gradually decreases until it disappears completely without any treatment. If aches and pains resulting from sports or heavy physical work are replaced by persistent pain, swelling in the wrist, elbow, shoulder, ankle, knee and hip joints, and limitation of usual movements, you should visit a doctor.

Age-related changes in the musculoskeletal system

The causes of moderate aches in bones and joints in older people are degenerative processes with loss of calcium, thinning of bone beams, impaired blood supply to cartilage and a decrease in the volume of intra-articular fluid. Mild discomfort is only the first manifestation of senile joint damage. Typically, periodic discomfort occurs after 45-50 years. By the age of 60-65, an unpleasant ache occurs even with minor exertion, accompanied by stiffness of movement, stooping, shuffling gait, and gradually gives way to pain.

Pregnancy

Complaints about aching joints are more often made in the second half of the gestational age. Pulling, aching discomfort is usually felt in the joints of the pelvis and lower extremities. It intensifies towards the end of the day, after prolonged standing or walking long distances. A night's rest eases the condition. Joint pain during pregnancy is caused by the following reasons:

• Vitamin and mineral deficiency. The greatest role is played by calcium and vitamin D deficiency, leading to osteomalacia. A feature of the manifestation of the symptom is a feeling of aching not only in the joints, but also in the bones, fatigue, the presence of other signs of hypocalcemia and hypovitaminosis D - caries, brittle nails, muscle weakness, muscle pain, and the frequent occurrence of ARVI.
• Significant weight gain. Joint discomfort is more often a concern for pregnant women with large weight gain or those who are obese. Aches at the end, and eventually in the middle of the day, are felt in the hip joints, knees, ankles, the cartilages of which experience loads several times higher than permissible. To alleviate the condition, women deliberately limit physical activity, which leads to even faster weight gain.
• Softening of cartilage and ligaments. About half of pregnant women experience discomfort in the joints of the pelvis caused by the action of the hormone relaxin. In most cases, the discomfort is in the nature of aching in the pubic area and hip joints. In a pathological course with the development of symphysitis, aching sensations are replaced by pain, which intensifies when pressing on the womb, trying to separate the legs, during sex. The appearance of pain in the pubic area is a serious reason for a visit to an obstetrician-gynecologist.
• Carpal tunnel syndrome. A specific manifestation found in the 2-3 trimesters in almost 20% of pregnant women is the so-called tunnel syndrome. The cause of the disorder is swelling of the soft tissues of the hands and compression in the carpal tunnel of the nerves that pass to the fingers. In addition to aching pain in the small joints of the hand, patients complain of numbness of the skin, tingling, and a crawling sensation. The condition improves with an elevated position of the arms.

Obesity

In overweight people, pressure on cartilage tissue increases, causing it to wear out faster. The degenerative-dystrophic process usually involves large joints of the lower extremities and intervertebral joints. The disorder increases as obesity progresses. Discomfort in the joints first manifests itself in the form of aches without fever 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.

Acute infections

Body and joint aches are one of the early (prodromal) signs of many acute respiratory viral infections. The main causes of joint discomfort are intoxication of the body due to 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 is noted both in the joints and in the muscles and bones. The symptom is accompanied by weakness, fatigue, insomnia, and frequent awakenings. Simultaneously with signs of aches and general malaise, chills and hyperthermia are observed.

The most pronounced aches in the joints and body are with the flu. Up to 50% of patients experience constant aching pain in the legs, arms, and 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, pick up a glass of water. The situation is aggravated by high (febrile) temperature and severe headaches. Sore throat and nasal congestion occur after a few hours or even days. Less joint discomfort occurs with parainfluenza, an adenoviral infection.

A feeling of aching in the joints is possible with acute infectious lesions of the gastrointestinal tract - food toxic infections, salmonellosis. Aching joint pains of varying intensity appear suddenly a few hours after consuming contaminated foods and are combined with a sharp rise in temperature, severe chills, and headaches. Aches are preceded by nausea, vomiting, pain in the abdominal cavity, foul-smelling diarrhea with mucous and sometimes bloody impurities.

Collagenoses

Aching joints are a harbinger of most diseases that occur with autoimmune inflammation of connective tissue, including joint tissue. The localization, prevalence, and intensity of unpleasant sensations are determined by the characteristics of a particular collagenosis. The 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 movements, and then at rest. Deformation of the articular joints is possible. The main systemic inflammatory causes of the disorder:

• Rheumatism. The symptom is "volatile": aching aches and then pain are felt in turn in the large joints of the arms and legs - elbows, shoulders, hips, knees, ankles. The affected areas are swollen. Joint discomfort is often preceded by a sore throat. With treatment, changes in the joints are reversible.
• Rheumatoid arthritis. Unpleasant sensations often appear after 40 years. A typical feeling of aching in the small joints of the hands and feet, combined with noticeable swelling and morning stiffness of movement. In the future, pain and curvature of the articular joints come to the fore.
• Systemic scleroderma. It is characterized by variable localization of aching sensations, the presence of stiffness in the morning in the joints of the hands, elbows, and knees. Aches and pain are usually symmetrical. The swelling is short-lived. Due to skin sclerosis, the mobility of the articular joints is limited, damage to the tendons causes a feeling of friction when moving.

Osteoarthritis

The pain syndrome in the initial stages of the disease is mild and is perceived as discomfort, aching in the joints of the legs, and less often, the arms. The immediate cause of osteoarthritis is degeneration and destruction of cartilage tissue. Typically, pulling or aching sensations without fever appear in adulthood and old age. Aching may begin earlier in the presence of occupational hazards (vibration, heavy physical labor). Gradually, the joints become stiff, the person experiences severe pain and difficulty walking and caring for himself.

Metabolic disorders

The causes of metabolic disorders in which joint pain occurs are insufficient supply of vitamins, minerals, accelerated accumulation or excessive excretion of metabolic products. Unpleasant sensations are caused by inflammatory or dystrophic processes, have varying severity and most often serve as a manifestation of pathological conditions such as:

• Osteoporosis. When calcium is washed out of bone tissue, the articular surfaces of the bones become fragile, the cartilage becomes thinner, which is accompanied by aching sensations. The pain syndrome increases gradually from mild aches to severe arthralgia, combined with unpleasant sensations in the bones and muscle weakness. The joints that experience the maximum load are most often affected - the hip and knee; the shoulder, elbow, and ankle are less commonly affected.
• Gout. A slight ache in the big toe is already a concern at the preclinical stages of the gouty process. There may be aching discomfort in the knees, elbows, wrists, and fingers. The accumulation of urates in the joint cavity leads to a rapid manifestation of the disease with a change from aching to acute painful joint pain that does not subside for several hours. The affected joint is hot to the touch. There is redness of the skin and limited movement.

Oncological diseases

In acute and chronic leukemia, widespread osteoarticular aches, followed by pain, often occur even before noticeable pathological changes in a general blood test and other clinical symptoms - general malaise, night sweats, fever, loss of appetite, bleeding. The unpleasant sensations are at first periodically aching, then constantly strong, debilitating the patient.

Hodgkin's lymphoma and lymphogranulomatosis are characterized by a combination of aching joints with muscle discomfort, weakness, enlarged lymph nodes and other lymphoid formations. Aching sensations are common, usually moderate. A short period of aching in the knee joint and thigh muscles, which intensifies at night, and with exertion turns into constantly increasing pain with lameness, is observed with osteosarcomas. Other joints are less commonly affected by this pathology.

Joint injuries

Joint aches are provoked by mild traumatic injuries, which cause damage to the ligaments surrounding the joint and bruise of the soft tissues of the articular area. More severe pain occurs when the meniscus is damaged. The symptom is clearly related in time to a blow, a fall, or an awkward movement. Usually discomfort is felt in one affected joint, less often spreading to adjacent areas of the body.

Chronic infectious processes

Possible causes of a feeling of aching joints that occurs without fever or against the background of low-grade fever are long-term infections. In patients suffering from chronic infectious and inflammatory diseases, joint discomfort becomes a consequence of intoxication of the body or direct damaging effects of microorganisms on joint tissue (usually streptococci, mycoplasmas, chlamydia). The appearance or intensification of pain may indicate an exacerbation of chronic tonsillitis, sinusitis, genitourinary infections, adnexitis, pyelonephritis.

Distinctive features of joint pain in common chronic infections that occur with intoxication are moderate severity of joint discomfort, gradual development, periodic intensification and weakening of symptoms. In patients suffering from tuberculosis and hematogenous osteomyelitis, the background for the development of aching painful sensations is an increase in temperature to subfebrile levels, general malaise - fatigue, weakness, weakness. Without treatment, the condition of patients progressively worsens.

Complications of pharmacotherapy

Taking some medications may be complicated by aches and moderate pain in the small joints of the hands. Unpleasant sensations are not accompanied by redness or deformation of the joints. Patients may complain of muscle aches, fever, skin rashes, and other manifestations of drug allergies. Discomfort quickly disappears after discontinuation of the drug that provoked it, and special treatment for complications that arise is less likely to be required. Aches and mild arthralgia are caused by:

• Antibiotics: penicillins, fluoroquinolones.
• Tranvilizers: phenazepam, diazepam, lorazepam, etc.
• Contraceptives: combined oral contraceptives (COCs).

Rare causes

• Inflammation of the respiratory system: pneumonia, bronchitis, tracheitis.
• Intestinal pathology: nonspecific ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease.
• Skin diseases: psoriasis.
• Endocrine disorders: diabetes mellitus, diffuse toxic goiter, hypothyroidism, Itsenko-Cushing's disease.
• Autoimmune processes: Hashimoto's thyroiditis, vasculitis.
• Fascial damage: necrotizing fasciitis in the convalescent stage.
• Congenital defects of bones and joints.

Survey

To determine why aches and pains are felt in the joints and bones, it is necessary to consult a therapist or family doctor, who will conduct an initial diagnosis and prescribe examinations by specialized specialists. Taking into account the nature of the unpleasant sensations, the speed of their occurrence, and accompanying symptoms, the following are recommended to determine the cause of the disorder:

• Laboratory blood test. An assessment of the leukocyte count and ESR level is required to exclude infections, inflammatory and oncohematological processes. In systemic diseases, it is important to measure the content of total protein, the ratio of protein fractions in the blood, specific acute-phase proteins, markers of rheumatoid arthritis and other inflammations. Tests for the concentration of vitamins, electrolytes (especially calcium), and uric acid help diagnose metabolic disorders.
• Bacteriological examination. Bacterial culture is necessary if the aches felt in the joints and the whole body are likely to be infectious. Urine, feces, sputum, and discharge from the urogenital tract are collected for research. To select an antimicrobial therapy regimen, sensitivity to antibiotics is determined. In doubtful cases, microscopy and culture are supplemented with serological reactions (RIF, ELISA, PCR).
• Sonography of articular joints. It is usually used for clear localization of painful sensations and the suspected presence of rheumatic diseases. Ultrasound of the joint allows us to examine its structure, identify destruction of cartilage and bone, preclinical inflammatory changes, and study the condition of the periarticular soft tissues. The advantages of the method are accessibility, non-invasiveness, and high information content.
• X-ray techniques. Changes in the width of the joint space, hardening of soft tissues, the presence of calcifications, osteophytes, and erosions of the articular surfaces are detected during radiography of the joints. To improve diagnostic efficiency, special techniques are used - contrast arthrography, pneumoarthrography. In the initial stages of the lesion, tomography (MRI, CT of joints) is considered more indicative. Bone density can be conveniently assessed using densitometry.
• Invasive examination techniques. In some cases, to determine the cause of joint pain, a puncture is performed with a biopsy of cartilage, the inner lining of the synovial membrane, and tophi. Morphological analysis of biopsy specimens and examination of synovial fluid reflect the nature of the pathological processes occurring in the joints. Simultaneous collection of materials with visual examination of the articular cavity is convenient to do during arthroscopy with tissue biopsy.

A less common way to diagnose the cause of joint pain is scintigraphy with the introduction of technetium, which accumulates in the affected tissues. In recent years, there has been increasing interest in joint thermography as a modern non-invasive method for recognizing inflammatory diseases, tumors, and circulatory disorders in joints and periarticular tissues. If the number of formed elements in a clinical blood test decreases, an extra-articular bone puncture is performed. Patients with joint pain without fever are advised to consult a rheumatologist and an orthopedic traumatologist.

Treatment

Help before diagnosis

For aching joints associated with physical activity, special treatment is not required; a long rest with dosing of loads is sufficient. Unpleasant joint sensations that occur during pregnancy usually go away on their own after pregnancy or are corrected by controlling weight and taking vitamin and mineral supplements. Elderly and obese patients are advised to change their lifestyle: adequate physical activity, a diet of appropriate calorie content with a sufficient content of plant foods.

Aches in the bones, joints and muscles, combined with general malaise and fever, increased aching and pulling sensations to the point of severe pain, and the development of persistent pain are indications for consulting a doctor. To reduce joint discomfort caused by ARVI, it is recommended to rest, drink enough water, rosehip infusions, and dried fruits. Until serious diseases that provoke aching joints are excluded, self-medication with painkillers, long-term unsuccessful application of compresses, lotions, decoctions, etc. are unacceptable.

Conservative therapy

You can get rid of joint pain with the right treatment, aimed at eliminating the cause of the disorder and individual parts of the mechanism of its development. Etiopathogenetic therapy is usually supplemented with symptomatic medications that quickly reduce the severity of nagging and aching pain. The treatment regimen for diseases that occur with aching joints may include:

• Antimicrobials. Basic therapy for infections is based on the prescription of antibiotics to which the pathogen is susceptible. In severe cases, broad-spectrum medications are used until the sensitivity of the microorganism is established.
• Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. They reduce the production of inflammatory mediators and thereby inhibit inflammatory processes in the joints. By influencing central pain receptors, they reduce the degree of joint discomfort. Used in the form of tablets, ointments, gels.
• Corticosteroids. They have a strong anti-inflammatory effect. Hormonal therapy is the basis for the treatment of systemic collagenosis. In severe and resistant forms of the disease, corticosteroid drugs are combined with immunosuppressants to enhance the effect.
• Chondroprotectors. They act as a substrate for the synthesis of protein glycans, a sufficient amount of which increases the elasticity of articular cartilage. Nourishes cartilage tissue and restores its damaged structure. Intra-articular administration of drugs is possible.
• Xanthine oxidase inhibitors. Used as anti-gout drugs. They block the key enzyme necessary for the synthesis of uric acid, thereby reducing its concentration in the body and promoting the dissolution of existing urate deposits.
• Vitamin-mineral complexes. Recommended for the treatment of aching joints caused by metabolic disorders. The most commonly used drugs contain calcium and vitamin D. They are also an element of complex therapy for inflammatory and metabolic diseases.
• Chemotherapeutic agents. They serve as the basis for most treatment regimens for various types of oncohematological pathologies. Depending on the clinical variant and severity of the neoprocess, they are combined with radiotherapy and surgical interventions.

Physiotherapy

After the exact cause of the aches and the subsidence of acute inflammation, patients, except those suffering from cancer, are prescribed physiotherapy and exercise therapy. Microwave and ultrasound therapy sessions, electrophoresis, and pulsed currents have a good anti-inflammatory and analgesic effect. In case of chronic pathology, physiotherapeutic treatment is carried out over several months and is supplemented with spa therapy.