Joint pain can come and go quickly or last for long periods of time, and the intensity can vary. The diagnosis is oftentimes founded on how painful it is and when the pain arises. Even if osteoarthritis is common, it’s only one of many causes of joint pain. Other related diagnoses are gout, rheumatoid arthritis and different types of injuries. Regardless of what it is that causes the pain, it’s important to contact a healthcare professional to get the correct diagnosis and proper treatment.
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA)
A relatively common disease that can produce symptoms similar to osteoarthritis is rheumatoid arthritis (RA). This is a chronic, autoimmune disease that primarily causes pain in the joints. Usually the symptoms affect the fingers or feet first. But other organs, such as the pleura, pericardium, eyes, and blood vessels can also be affected.
Similarly to osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis cannot be cured. Instead, the treatment is focused on reducing the symptoms. This is done through a combination of medications, customized exercises, and occupational therapy. These treatments are usually coordinated by a medical team. The earlier the treatment is started, the better the results for the patient.
Common knee injuries
You do not need to have a chronic disease to experience joint pain. The pain can also stem from a knee injury, for example. A common complaint is runner’s knee. This causes pain on the outside of the knee and appears when exercising. It often disappears with some rest. Jumper’s knee is also a common diagnosis. In this case, however, the pain is located more at the front below the knee.
If there is pain in the knee during bending or stretching, it may be due to a meniscus injury. In general, it occurs due to a sharp twisting of the knee joint, often in conjunction with athletics. This type of injury is primarily treated with rehabilitative training. Arthroscopy may also be an option if the training does not give results.
