Joint Pain and Stiffness

Talk about joints and muscles and the first thing which comes to your mind is the pain associated with them, specially joints. Joint pain is a very routine thing and many amongst us are dealing with it or have suffered it. There are umpteen causes of joint pain, from an injury to arthritis or any other joint disease. Whatever be the reason, one thing is for sure that it is not a very pleasant situation to be in. Those suffering from it, are perhaps looking for an instant and a miracle cure. Unfortunately, that is something which is unrealistic. It will take time and you will get some relief. But even then, your pain and stiffness may not totally go away.

Causes of Joint Pain and Stiffness
As mentioned earlier, there are umpteen causes of joint pain, from a simple injury to a complex autoimmune disease. Let's take a look at these causes.

Arthritis
Need I say anything about arthritis? Joint pain is the most prominent effect of arthritis and the various types of arthritis. Arthritis is a degenerative joint disease which can also lead to deformation of joints. The most common amongst the types of arthritis is rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis.

Bursitis
Another very common cause of joint pain is bursitis. Bursitis happens when the small sacks (bursae) of fluid located between a tendon and a bone or skin, especially at the joints undergo inflammation. It can cause severe joint pain and stiffness.

Infectious Diseases
Infectious diseases causing joint pain are flu, measles, lyme disease, hepatitis, mumps, rheumatic fever, varicella, that is chickenpox and rubella (german measles).

Tendonitis
Tendonitis, as the name suggests, refers to the inflammation of the tendons, the fibrous parts joining the muscle with the bone.

Gout
When the uric acid in the body is not properly got out of the system, the deposits of uric acid settle and crystallize in the joints. It leads to swelling, redness, stiffness and pain in the joints.

Injury or Exertion
Any injury or fracture to the joint is bound to create problems in that area. If you have hurt your fingers badly for instance, there will be pain and stiffness in the finger joint. In addition to that such an injury is enough to cause joint pain and stiffness in the morning. Likewise, extreme exertion and repetitive activity and sprain is a surefire way to invite such a condition.

After knowing what are the causes, a description about the cure and treatment is a must. Here we go then.

Treatment
The treatment, for starters depends upon how severe is the problem and what is causing it. Naturally, the aim of the treatment is to relieve the pain and stiffness in the joints. The most basic thing then is to have a hot or cold compress. An ice pack brings the swelling down and heat improves the blood circulation. Alternating cold and heat every 5 minutes is the best bet to deal with this awful condition. Another very common course of treatment is non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and narcotic pain medications. Corticosteroids are also sometimes prescribed for dealing with extreme pain and inflammation. There are a lot of such over the counter drugs available for that purpose. If you want to go the alternative medicine way, you have that option as well, in supplements like glucosamine, ginger, chondroitin sulfate and a few others.

Finally, to top it all, regular exercise to keep the joints moving and retaining their strength, be it joint pain and stiffness in hands, knees or anywhere else, is absolutely imperative. It will help you control your weight too, which can exacerbate these problems. Take Care!