Joint Pain Symptoms

Most individuals have experienced some type of joint pain in their lives.  It is a very common ailment that is usually caused by an injury or infection.  When you get sick you may experience body aches and joint pain.  There are some other more serious conditions such as tumors and some forms of arthritis that cause joint pain, just to name a few.  These conditions can cause severe pain and can affect an individual’s lifestyle by restricting their everyday activities.

There are common symptoms of joint pain and range in severity with each individual case.  The cause of it can also vary with each individual.  Finding the cause of the joint pain is important so you may understand and treat it effectively.

The most common symptoms of joint pain are redness, (that may be accompanied by heat), swelling, restricted range of motion, and stiffness.  One may also experience fever and nausea.

Although these are common symptoms, not every individual will experience all of them, and they might experience some of them in more than one joint at a time.  It again depends on the cause.

If an inflammatory condition is the cause of your joint pain, such as and injury or arthritis, redness or swelling symptoms will be noticeable.  The joint may become stiff after a long period of rest.  A non-inflammatory condition may show symptoms of increased pain during usage, slight stiffness and may experience less pain after resting.

Most joint pain is caused from over usage or an injury.  A lot of times the joint gets overused usually through exercise, but you can also stress the joint by doing something you are not use to like moving a refrigerator.  These can cause joint pain.  Age can also be a cause for joint pain.  As the body ages it becomes slower at rejuvenating itself which can cause a lack of nutrients to the joints.  Age can also lead to some forms of arthritis like osteoarthritis.  Osteoarthritis commonly affects individuals around 50 years of age.  It affects the cartilage in the joint and can also cause bone spurs in the joint, both of which cause joint pain.  There are some other causes for joint pain such as gout, tumors and metabolic disorders.

There are some self help treatments that can provide relief of joint pain which includes, stretching, medications, massage, hot/cold compresses, and a warm bath (add Epsom salt to the water for an improved effect).

Joint pain suffered from over usage can usually be treated easily.  But, if your symptoms or joint pain does not improve with self help remedies, you should talk with a health care professional about your condition.  Your joint pain may be a symptom itself for an underlying more serious medical condition.  It is important to get a proper diagnosis for your condition to prevent further damage to the joint, to get rid of the joint pain, and prevent it from reoccurring.  Additional medical treatment may be required to successfully accomplish this.