Almost everyone will experience some form of joint pain sometime in their lifetime. Your joints are what form the connections between your bones. Joint pain can potentially be felt in every part of your body. This pain can hinder your movement and greatly affect your quality of life. Joint pain can decrease mobility and prevent you from doing many of the things you enjoy.
Symptoms of Joint Pain
- Stiffness
- Swelling
- Redness
Joint pain can be caused by a range of conditions. Joint pain targets any age and any gender. As you get older, it is more common to experience pain in your joints due to a range of causes.
Potential Causes of Joint Pain
- Osteoarthritis
- Gout
- Sprains
- Strains
Available Treatment
There are many treatments available for the treatment of joint pain. There are numerous medications available for treating joint pain, from over-the-counter medications such as aspirin and ibuprofen to various medications that must be prescribed by a medical professional. Topical agents, ointments that are applied directly to the affected area, may also be used to reduce joint pain. These ointments include agents such as capsaicin or methyl salicylate. Injections are another way of treating joint pain. This treatment is a little more invasive, and is usually only taken in the event there is no relief from oral medication or topical treatments. Injections can include steroids, platelet-rich plasma therapy, or prolotherapy (usually a sugar solution that acts to promote healing). Physical therapy is another mode of treatment that may be proposed, alone, or in combination with one or more of the other possible treatments. Because there are so many treatment options, it is important to be sure you have medical professional advising you on the treatment that is best for your individual situation.
When It Is Time To See The Doctor?
It is important to recognize when it is time to put a stop to your pain and to see the doctor for treatment. If you begin to see that the area where the joint pain is, is now associated with swelling, redness, or warmth, it is time to call us. It is common for people to use over-the-counter drugs to fix the pain but what they do not realize is that these are just short-term fixes. You should not have to put your daily activities on hold in order to freely move without pain.