WHAT IS JOINT PAIN?
Joint pain refers to discomfort, soreness, or inflammation that affects the areas where two or more bones meet. It can vary in intensity, duration, and location, impacting individuals of all ages and lifestyles. Joint pain is a common ailment with numerous potential causes and can significantly impact one's quality of life. This article aims to explore various aspects of joint pain, including its causes, symptoms, treatment options, and preventive measures.
Causes of Joint Pain: Joint pain can be caused by a wide range of factors. Some common causes include:
- Arthritis: Osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis are the most prevalent forms. Osteoarthritis occurs due to wear and tear of the joint cartilage, while rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune condition that causes inflammation in the joints.
- Injuries: Accidents, sports injuries, or repetitive stress injuries can damage the joints, leading to pain and discomfort.
- Inflammation: Conditions such as tendinitis, bursitis, and synovitis can cause joint inflammation and subsequent pain.
- Infections: Certain infections, such as Lyme disease, septic arthritis, or viral infections, can affect the joints and cause pain.
- Gout: Gout is a type of arthritis characterized by the buildup of uric acid crystals in the joints, leading to sudden and severe joint pain.
WHO SHOULD I SEE AT ABSOLUTE HEALTH AND WELLNESS?
At Absolute Health & Wellness, we recommend a team approach to managing your joint pain. A physiotherapist, chiropractor or osteopath can help with your joint pain by assessing the joints and surrounding tissue. They will combine manual therapies, exercise and modalities like shockwave, acupuncture and ultrasound.
A naturopath can help with supplements which help with joint surfaces, and if your joint pain is associated with autoimmune disease, they can help with that too!
Massage therapists can help ease your joint pain by working on relaxing the muscles, fascia and connective tissue around the joints.
HOW WE COMMONLY TREAT JOINT PAIN
- Physical Medicine: when there is joint involvement, muscular pains or any neurological involvement, our team of physios, chiros, osteos and massage therapists can have roles to play in assessment and treatment, using hands-on, manual based therapies
- Shockwave, Ultrasound, Acupuncture: depending on the nature of your joint pain, some modalities can help with treating the underlying issues, reducing inflammation and helping with pain
- Supplements (Herbs, Vitamins, Minerals): many natural compounds can help with cartilage, reduce inflammation and help with pain
- Custom Fit and Custom Made Braces: in some cases medical braces are helpful.
Every person is different, and joint pain are all different. Even the same condition in two people can presents differently, so we always take an individualized approach to treating your joint pain.
