What are some common causes of joint pain?
-
Dr. Mehmet Oz answered:Over time, your joints can take a beating from a variety of things - from running too much, or from weighing too much, or from playing too many contact sports. And as you age, the shock-absorbing cartilage and synovial fluid thin and you gradually lose their protective cushioning - just as an old pair of running shoes loses its ability to absorb shock and pounding.
Like most things, your body balances the wear and tear by putting new fluid in and getting rid of the old fluid. But if a joint becomes injured or inflamed from wear and tear, you can produce too much synovial fluid, which leads to painful swelling. Over time, and as we age, we produce less synovial fluid and our cartilage breaks down. The breakdown of cartilage and loss of synovial fluid can lead to painful bone on bone grinding because of the loss of your shock absorbers.
Muscle weakness is another major cause of joint pain. Muscles suspend the bones in joints, so the bones don't touch each other and there's less pressure on the joint. When muscles get weak, joints deteriorate and bones lose their ability to slide smoothly, so they end up rubbing against each other like stick on stick. When you have pain, you start hobbling and your muscles immediately get weaker, so when you start moving around again, guess what? The ability of your muscles to suspend your bones is lost and you feel bone hit bone with only the thin Teflon cartilage in between. That process triggers painful inflammation, which can make even walking tough.
Find out more about this book: You: Being Beautiful - The Owner's Manual to Inner and Outer Beauty
Over time, your joints can take a beating from a variety of things - from running too much, or from weighing too much, or from playing too many contact sports. And as you age, the shock-absorbing cartilage and synovial fluid thin and you gradually... More -
Trevor Wicken - NASM Elite Trainer answered:In addition to acute trauma and medical conditions, chronic joint pain can be caused from muscle imbalances around the affected joint. Muscles surround a majority of the joints in the body and move our bones as they are signaled from the central nervous system to do so. When the muscles around a joint are balanced, that means that all the muscles are equally "active" in their ability to produce force at the right time, in the right direction, with the right amount of force.
Muscles can become imbalanced with poor postural habits, overuse, or repetitive occupational or athletic stress (i.e. carpal tunnel syndrome from typing or rotator cuff strain from excessive overhead activity such as painting). When this occurs, certain muscles around the joint become overused, overactive, or over-tight and others become underused, underactive, and over-lengthened. When this happens, excessive, unequal stress is placed on parts of the joint, the body senses this as an injury, and begins the inflammation process in an attempt to heal the joint thereby producing swelling and pain.
If the stimulus for injury and inflammation is not alleviated, pain and swelling will continue, joint tissue will wear down, and chronic pain will follow.
In addition to acute trauma and medical conditions, chronic joint pain can be caused from muscle imbalances around the affected joint. Muscles surround a majority of the joints in the body and move our bones as they are signaled from the central... More -
Joint pain can occur anywhere in the body where two bones meet each other, such as the hands, back, hips, and knees. There are many causes of joint pain. The following is a list of some of the causes categorized in terms that are often used when talking about the different diagnoses. Joint pain can be caused by injury or overuse (such as broken bones, muscle strains, or wearing of the cartilage at a joint), arthritis (most commonly osteoarthritis, but also arthritis due to gout), infection (such as a septic joint), autoimmune disease (which may present with body-wide symptoms in addition to joint pain), and inflammation of joint structures (such as tendonitis or inflammation of the tendons connecting muscle to bone).
Joint pain can occur anywhere in the body where two bones meet each other, such as the hands, back, hips, and knees. There are many causes of joint pain. The following is a list of some of the causes categorized in terms that are often used... More
