sore joints

Believe it or not - like the gastrointestinal tract, nervous system and respiratory tract, all the joints in your body are interconnected, regardless of how far they are located from each other. Of course, if you sprained knee, or find that his elbow hurts after active exercise, pain in your joints is traumatic and local character. But if you do not remember the injury, and feel pain in one or more joints - you may have a more generalized process that, in addition to what is given to you Arthritis (from Greek artrus - joint and ending - um means inflammation) It affects other body systems.

When your joints are sore and your fever, you may have a viral infection like the flu. Or do you feel quite well and only complain about the joints. For example, hip hurts a little bit from time to time, or your knee you will recognize that soon the rain. Or you are completely broken, deformed joints, your temperature is not too high, anemia and you feel weak. These last two scenarios joint pain correspond to the two most common types of arthritis. Let's start with the fact that more serious.

Constant pain, swollen, deformed joints, anemia and, occasionally, low-grade fever are the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis. But its main feature that distinguishes it from all other forms of arthritis - a common weakness that accompanies the pain. You will not only hurt you and feel disgusting. The reason is that rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease that affects the entire body. In fact, the heart and lungs are also often its target.

Osteoarthritis, which is also painful, gives a completely different picture. This is not an autoimmune disease, it is less deforms the joints and does not involve other organs. In other words, you only feel pain in the affected joints. Most experts believe that osteoarthritis reflects the "wear" and usually affects the joints of those who bear the greatest burden, and almost always in motion, such as the knee, hip and back joints.

The two major forms of arthritis - not the only cause of chronic pain in the joints.

Consider other causes of joint pain

If you have an infection elsewhere in the body, the respective bacteria can get into the blood and penetrate into the joint, usually one. The joint is swollen, sore and filled with pus. Viral infections like hepatitis B, also cause more pain and swelling of the joints, but without pus. The same is observed in bacterial endocarditis, an infection of the heart valves.

Various chemical components in the body's joints can fall and cause irritation. A good example is uric acid, an excess of which leads to gout. Almost three-quarters of gout associated with one joint - the big toe.

About a third of people with psoriasis (psoriasis), generalized skin disease that is easily recognized, undergo the pain and swelling in multiple joints.

Some tumors, violation of blood coagulation system (in which there is bleeding into the joint) and even bowel disease may be accompanied by certain forms of arthritis.

Pain may occur in apparently perfectly normal joint - this is what is called arthralgia. Word with such a complex sound simply means that you have joint pain. This happens with the flu when joints hurt, although in this case they do not blush, do not swell and do not have an increased sensitivity.

Medications, such as those that writes you a physician, and simple, that you buy for yourself, can cause pain and swelling in the joints. The list of potential offenders is long and includes penicillin, birth control pills, certain drugs that reduce blood pressure, certain tranquilizers, anti-TB drugs, and even mild hypnotic, barbituric acid derivatives. So if suddenly your joints begin to ache and swell for no apparent reason, remember the medications as a possible reason.

Here are some key questions that you should ask yourself to find the cause of your arthritis.

You are under 20, and the pain is jumping from one joint to another, struck by more than one joint? If the answer to these questions are "yes", you have an acute rheumatic fever. This is especially likely when preceded arthritis (recently) a sore throat. Rheumatic fever is rare in individuals older than 21 years.

If you are female between 20 and 45 and have pain, stiffness, and swelling in more than one joint, and they are arranged symmetrically, it may be rheumatoid arthritis. However, if your symptoms from the joints began after 40 are more likely to have osteoarthritis.

It hurts just the big toe? If it is swollen, red, and so sensitive that even the slightest touch can cause pain, you almost with certainty gout. If you have been to this diuretic, this diagnosis is accurate enough. If it is any other single joint, like the knee or elbow, remember gonorrhea (especially if you have recently been discharge from the urethra or had another bacterial infection).

You are most concerned about the wrist? This is often a sign of rheumatoid arthritis.

The pain is most intense in the knees and hips? This is an indicator of osteoarthritis.

If the pain and swelling appear in multiple joints at once, especially in the hands and feet, it is possible rheumatoid arthritis, but also Reiter's syndrome. In the latter case, some of the joints become painful and swollen, there is an eye inflammation, and discharge from the urethra. Reiter's syndrome - an autoimmune disease that usually occurs in young men and probably is a specific response to the disease, sexually transmitted diseases.

When your joints are swollen and become sensitive? "When" - is important. Rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis cause, both swelling and sensitivity, but in osteoarthritis pain is often preceded by swelling and outer sensitivity for weeks or months. This is not observed in rheumatoid arthritis.

Amazed symmetrical joints? In rheumatoid arthritis, if the sore joint on one side, and the joint will hurt on the other. When osteoarthritis different joints lesion is random.

There is a growing pain in the joint on movement and diminishes or disappears when you rest? This is a sign of osteoarthritis.

Your symptoms are worse in the morning and afternoon facilitated? This speaks in favor of greater rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis than at which the pain increases during the day.

If you have a fever with joint pain, and you are young, it is possible rheumatic fever. Or joint struck gout or one of the other autoimmune diseases like lupus. And today, no matter where you live, you have to consider the possibility of Lyme disease. It is transmitted by the bite of a deer tick and classically causes fever, rash and joint pain.

The combination of diarrhea and pain in joints may indicate an inflammatory bowel disease (ulcerative colitis, ileitis or Crohn's disease).

Although, as you can see, there are many different causes of diseases of the joints, you can select on the basis of your age, sex, location of the joints, the characteristics of the painful events that affects them, what other symptoms are present.

Symptom: painful, swollen joints