Showing posts with label joint pain. Show all posts
Showing posts with label joint pain. Show all posts

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Knee Joint Pain Causes and Treatment - Information That You Should Know

Knee joint is the junction of two large bones of leg in which pain can be caused due to many reasons. The exact location of the pain helps medical experts to diagnose the problem better and quickly for treatment. Like any other joint of the body knee too is prone to the injuries, infections and disorders, in fact in older people complaints for knee pain is more common than compared to any other joint of the body.

The knee joint is formed by two bones femur and tibia supported by four ligaments and a patella also popularly known as knee cap. This whole joint is covered by synovium and is filled with synovial fluid which provides nourishment to the cartilages and keeps them elastic. Synovial fluid inside synovium also keeps cartilages smooth and slippery to ensure friction free and pain free movement of the knee joint. The knee joint joins thigh and shin bones to make normal activity like walking possible. This joint can bend up to 135 degrees and extend to 0 degrees. The knee joint is a weight bearing joint and complex in design which makes it most commonly injured joint of the body.

Injuries can promote pain in the knee joint. Any traumatic event can cause damage to ligaments attached to the knee joint. As knee has four ligaments attached to it exact area of pain can help the doctor to find out the particular ligament that has been damaged. Pain occurs when weight is transferred on the joint. Swelling of tendons also referred as tendinitis or jumper's knee, injuries caused to meniscus by sharp and quick movements can cause mild to severe pain in the knee joint. The pain due to tearing of meniscus is felt with a popping sensation and locking or feeling of unstable knee. Swelling of tendons causes pain below the knee cap or at the back of the knee joint. All of these knee joint pains may also occur due to old age or overuse of the knee joint like in sports and other activities.

Osteoarthritis and rheumatic arthritis are other common causes of knee joint pain. Osteoarthritis causes damage to cartilages which eventually exposes ends of the bones to rub each other to cause severe pain and inflammation and also can cause complete immobility of the joint. Rheumatic arthritis makes immunity system attack its own healthy tissues which causes damage to the tissues present in the knee joint causing inflammation, redness, pain and infection in the synovial fluid. Arthritis also promotes secretion of fluid in the joint which gets accumulated in the form of a cyst at the back of the knee joint also known as baker’s cyst.

Knee joint pain due to arthritis or any other disease, infection or disorder is treated along with the major problem while knee joint pain due to any injury can be treated by hot and cold compresses, massages with warm oil or pain relieving ointments and creams, light exercises like walking and cycling, yoga and aerobics. Knee replacement surgery is the last option medically available to treat a completely immobile and painful knee.

Read about effective Joint Pain Relief supplements. Find how Joint Pain Massage Oil helps to reduce inflammation and pain.

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Reduce Joint Pain Stiffness with Herbal Remedies

Joint pain and stiffness look closely associated with each other in the case of joint discomfort but sometimes one is a symptom of another and sometimes both of these conditions occur almost simultaneously. Joint pain occurring either due to relatively moderate reasons like muscles sprains or due to serious medical conditions like arthritis is accompanied by stiffness immediately or later.

Join pain signifies malfunctioning of the joint due to muscle sprains, injury to ligaments, infections, inflammation and cartilage damage. These conditions promote stiffness while moving the joint as the smooth and friction free movements of bones, muscles, tendons and ligament get obstructed. In the case of osteoarthritis stiffness has been noted to appear prior to the pain, particularly in the morning when person is getting out of bed or after a period of inactivity, which goes away after sometime and with the movement. Later mild to severe pain is experienced while moving the joint. In case of rheumatic arthritis, pain is experienced prior to stiffness and stiffness signifies the progression of the disease.

Stiffness either due to arthritic conditions or due to infections and injury suggest the damage caused to the normal functioning of the joint. Ligaments hold two bones of joint at a proper place and if any trauma has caused some swelling to ligaments the position of bones may get disturbed to cause pain and stiffness. Muscles move the joints and if not contracting or expanding properly may cause pain while moving the joint. Person suffering from osteoarthritis have brittle cartilages, this condition disallow the smooth movement of bones and severe pain is caused when the joint is moved along with stiffness. Rheumatic conditions can infect the tissues of the joint, synovial fluid present between the bones and other parts of joint to cause stiffness and joint pain. With the progression of rheumatic conditions the stiffness also progresses and can lead to complete immovability of the joint.

Massages, herbs, dietary supplements and exercises can treat and cure stiffness of the joints. Though if stiffness is due to any underlying medical condition use of all of these methods or anyone shall be in accordance with the main treatment of the medical condition but in case of benign conditions any of these methods can surely alleviate the problem. Massages can improve blood flow to the affected area which oxygenates the tissues and muscles improving them in strength and endurance. Exercises keep all the related parts and the joint itself in proper shape. While herbs and dietary supplements can help the body in withering infections and controlling the damages caused to the joints, causing stiffness and pain.

Besides all of these condition old age, obesity and lethargic life style also contribute in causing and promoting joint pain and stiffness. Extra pressure exerted on the bones due to excess fat is transferred to joints which increases wear and tear of cartilage promoting pain and stiffness. Degradation of joints due to age is a natural process and cause stiffness which can be delayed or slowed down with proper and light joint exercises.

Read about effective Joint Pain Relief supplements. Also know useful Home Remedies for Joint Pain.

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Reduce Hip Joint Pain and Inflammation With These Methods

Hip joint pain can arise from structures within the joint or structures surrounding the hip joint. It joins legs with torso of the body, the thigh bone femur swivels in the joint made up of pelvic bones, this structure is like a socket and contains space and very less fluid in it. This socket like structure is called acetabulum. Any injury or infection fills this space with fluid or blood which restricts the free movement of the head of the femur causing pain, stiffness, and even locking of the joint. Inflammation, swelling, redness and warmth are few symptoms of this pain.

Muscles and tendons are attached to hip joint which in concert enables the movement of the joint, apart from the movement, muscles also ensure joint stability. In the hip joint large brusaes are present which are sacs filled with fluid and these are attached to the intersections of muscles to help tendons and muscles glide smoothly and without friction. Thick band of tissues and sciatica nerve is also attached to the hip joint.

Any inflammation caused to the structures of the joint or to those which are attached to the joint can cause pain in the hip joint. Inflammation or damage to the muscles attached to the joint can create problems during the movement, inflamed tendons commonly due to tendinitis or swelling of brusaes due to trochanteric bursitis can also cause mild to severe joint pain in the hip. Osteonecrosis is also one of the most common reasons for hip joint pain which occurs when there is inadequate blood supply to any part of the skeletal structure of the joint. The other reasons for hip joint pain are muscle pulls, and fractures either directly of the bones involved in the joint or to the femur and stress fractures which occur due to over use of the joint particularly by athletes or sportspersons. Many types of arthritis can also cause hip pain as they can infect tissues and muscles and also damage the brusaes to avoid smooth movement of femur in the acetabulum and of muscles and tendons.

Inability to walk properly or reduced stride are very common and early symptoms of hip joint pain. Bending and getting up from sitting position require lot of effort and the joint pose resistance during such activities. Pain in the hip while lying and resting also suggests some problem to the joint. Pain accompanied by redness, fever or swelling at the joint signifies serious joint problem in the joint. People having strained or pinched sciatica nerve or suffering from herniated disc may not be having any problem in the hip joint but they might experience some pain due to these problems.

NSAID are recommended by the doctors along with the treatment to control pain and enable the patient to move the joint. Herbs like echnacea, ginseng, winter cherry and ginger are also helpful in controlling pain and inflammation. Massages and exercises are always helpful in reducing the frequency of the painful episodes. In case of complete immovability of the joint, hip replacement surgery is the last option.

Find how Joint Pain Massage Oil helps to reduce inflammation and pain. Also know useful Home Remedies for Knee Pain.