DR MAXWELL ADEYEMI

Joint pain has many causes. It can be hard to find out what's causing it. And treatments vary depending on the cause. Joint pain can be from a type of arthritis (joint inflammation). Or there may be no damage or inflammation, as with fibromyalgia and hypothyroidism.

Causes

Arthritis: In arthritis, inflammation and joint damage is responsible for the pain. Arthritis comes in many forms with many causes.

Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis. It results from the breakdown of cartilage. This is often due to ageing. It can also be caused by trauma. Cartilage provides a cushion between the bones of a joint. That helps bones glide past each other. When the cartilage wears away, bones don't glide, they grind. It tends to affect the knees, hips, neck, lower back, and fingers

The pain gets worse with movement and better with rest. It often starts with sharp, intermittent pain then grows into a constant ache.

Joint stiffness and a limited range of motion are common.

Classic osteoarthritis is non-inflammatory. But an aggressive sub-type, erosive osteoarthritis, is inflammatory and most common in postmenopausal women. It causes a gradual onset of joint aches, stiffness, and swelling in multiple finger joints.

Gout is a type of inflammatory arthritis. It strikes people with high levels of uric acid in their blood. Uric acid can build up and form crystals inside your joints. The immune system then tries to destroy them. That leads to inflammation and pain. Common joints for gout are the big toe, ankle, knee.

A classic gout attack involves sudden, severe, often burning joint pain. It usually strikes just one joint. Along with being sore, joints may be red, warm and swollen.

Pseudo-gout is a type of inflammatory arthritis. It's caused by calcium crystals building up in the joints. The most common joints are the knees, wrists, shoulders, ankles, feet, elbows. Pseudo-gout feels much like gout. But pseudogout attacks may last longer.

In septic arthritis, a joint becomes infected. It's most often due to bacteria. In rare cases, it may be a fungus (like candida) or mycobacteria (like tuberculosis).

Septic arthritis tends to affect a single joint such as, knee, ankle, wrist, and hip.

The affected joint gets swollen, warm, and stiff and may be accompanied by fever, infection usually starts in the blood, then moves into the joint.

Several viruses may cause viral arthritis. The most common ones include: Hepatitis B and C, Parvovirus B19, HIV, mosquito-borne viruses like the chikungunya virus and zika.

Viral arthritis lasts for a short time. Then most people are symptom-free. But some viruses leave behind pain that lingers for months or years.

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic autoimmune disease that develops gradually and predominantly affects the joints. But early symptoms may include: fatigue, muscle pain, low-grade fever, weight loss, numbness and tingling in the hands.

The joints also tend to be stiff, warm, red, and swollen, pain tends to be worse in the mo