Our bodies are perfect mechanisms that can amaze and confuse us at the same time. The occasions in which not even specialists can give answers to things that happen in our bodies are not rare, but there are still many medical questions we have yet to answer.
Sometimes, even the most common things are actually very enigmatic in nature and it seems that no matter how much researchers are working on it, we will never find the actual truth about these matters.
Joint pain is extremely common and the vast majority of people experience it at least once in their life. However, when joint pain becomes chronic and when it has been with you for more than a few months, it is more than the time to go to the doctor and investigate what the reason behind this pain may be.
You may be surprised, but the causes that lead to joint pain can be quite varied and they can sometimes be odd and mysterious as well.
Which Are The Main Conditions that Cause Joint Pain?
There are many types of conditions that can cause joint pain. Some of them are related to the bones and their structures, others are related to the muscles and still others are related to nerves that can get entrapped or pinched (thus leading to pain).
Here are some of the most common joint pain-related medical conditions:
1- This is a name that is very well known in the world and millions of people are diagnosed with this disease. Arthritis comes in many shapes and under many names and it can even be an autoimmune disease at times (rheumatoid arthritis, for example, is caused by the fact that the body’s autoimmune cells attack the joints). However, in most of the cases arthritis will be connected to joints and to the way in which they become eroded.
2- Tendons are the cords that connect your muscles to your bones. When these cords become inflamed, pain can occur – and this condition comes under the name of “tendonitis”.
According to the area in which the tendonitis has occurred (because it can appear in almost every muscle on the human body), there are various exercises and treatments that can be followed so that the pain is alleviated and the patients come back to a normal life.
3- As much as these are common, they are quite misunderstood– even by those who experience them. Sprains (and strains) occur during physical exercise in most of the occasions when the exercise is too abrupt, when the body is improperly controlled or warmed up before exercise or when there is too much pressure placed on the joint.
Sprains are home-treatable and they do not require medical attention (or at least not most of the times, depending on the severity of the sprain).
4- Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. It can happen to everyone to feel fatigued, but when this is experienced on a long period of time and without any apparent reason (even when sleeping and resting enough), it is high time you visited your doctor and talked about this because it could be Chronic Fatigue Syndrome that makes you feel this way.
In addition to fatigue and malaise, there are many other symptoms this medical condition can show and joint pain is one of them.
5- Out of all the pain-related diseases, this is probably one of the most misunderstood ones. Research is being made, but there is no clear answer on what causes this syndrome to appear.
Widespread muscle pain is one of the most poignant symptoms experienced by people with fibromyalgia and joint pain can appear too. Sometimes, arthritis appears as a co-morbid condition as well.
How to Tell If You Have Fibromyalgia
You cannot put a diagnosis by judging according to one symptom only (joint pain, in this case), especially when that symptom is common to many other diseases and conditions. If you want to know if you have fibromyalgia, the best way is to visit a medical specialist.
He/she will analyze your symptoms and he/she will also analyze the 18 tender points in your body. Until not very long ago, 11 painful tender points were considered to be the minimum to diagnose a patient with fibromyalgia, but this rule has been removed and most of the doctors will not follow it any longer.
Furthermore, a blood test to diagnose fibromyalgia has been developed as well and it is considered to be very efficient. However, you should bear in mind the fact that it is not covered by most of the health insurance policies out there (especially since it is a new test) and that the costs of taking it without an insurance policy are of about $750.
In general, fibromyalgia can go undiagnosed for a long time because its symptoms can vary a lot and it can confuse even the best of the doctors. Sometimes, fibromyalgia is misdiagnosed as arthritis, the chronic fatigue syndrome, myofascial pain syndrome and even as depression and it can go away without receiving adequate treatment.
As for the treatment administered in the case of those with fibromyalgia, it can vary a lot, the same as the symptoms. There are certain types of medication that have been proven to be efficient in alleviating the symptoms shown by the patients, but other than that, there is no cure proper for this medical condition.
In addition to medication, the doctor will recommend a change in lifestyle, as well as attending physical therapy. Some patients also pick up yoga, tai chi and meditation because they believe these things can help them cope with the pain in a better way. Acupuncture is also believed to be efficient in treating fibromyalgia pain and in treating various other types of chronic pain too. However, if you do choose to try this out, always remember that you should only go to professionals who have been authorized to do this.
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