Joint Pain
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Joint pain
Overview
Joints are the parts of your body where your bones meet. Joints allow the bones of your skeleton to move. Joints include:
- shoulders
- hips
- elbows
- knees
Joint pain refers to discomfort, aches, and soreness in any of the body’s joints. Joint pain is a common complaint. It doesn’t typically require a hospital visit.
Sometimes, joint pain is the result of an illness or injury. Arthritis is also a common cause of joint pain. However, it can also be due to other conditions or factors.
Symptoms
In some cases, your joint pain will require you to see a doctor. You should make an appointment if you don’t know the cause of your joint pain and are experiencing other unexplained symptoms.
You should also see a doctor if:
- the area around the joint is swollen, red, tender, or warm to the touch
- the pain persists for three days or more
- you have a fever but no other signs of the flu
Go to the emergency room if any of the following occurs:
- You’ve experienced a serious injury.
- The joint appears deformed.
- Swelling of the joint occurs suddenly.
- The joint is completely immobile.
- You have severe joint pain.
Causes
Joint pain can be caused by:
- bursitis, or inflammation of the cushioning pads around joints
- lupus
- gout
- certain infectious diseases, such as mumps, influenza, and hepatitis
- chondromalacia of the patella, or a breakdown of the cartilage in the kneecap
- an injury
- tendinitis, or inflammation of the tendon
- an infection of the bone or joint
- overuse of a joint
- cancer
- fibromyalgia
- osteoporosis
- sarcoidosis
- rickets