What is the cause of my joint pain?
Joint pain is often due to injuries that stretch or tear connective tissues, fracture bones, dislocate the joint, or damage the cartilage inside the joint. Examples of these types of injuries include:
- Rotator cuff injuries
- Tendinitis
- Iliotibial band syndrome
- Meniscal tears
- Labral tears
- ACL sprains
- MCL sprains
- Tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis)
- Golfer's elbow (medial epicondylitis)
You could have nerve damage that causes joint pain, as is the case with carpal tunnel syndrome in your wrist and cubital tunnel syndrome in your elbow. Bursitis — inflammation in the protective sacs called bursae inside your joints — can also cause joint pain.
The most likely cause of chronic joint pain is arthritis, which comes in more than 100 forms. Some of the more widespread types are osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, and gout.
How is joint pain diagnosed?
When you visit Pinnacle Pain and Spine, our providers perform a physical examination to look for symptoms like swelling and bruising. They check how well you can move the joint and how strong it is, and discuss your symptoms with you at length.
Very often, our providers arrive at a diagnosis following your physical exam. However, they might need to see detailed pictures of the inside of the joint to determine the extent of the damage.
Tests that can provide this information include X-rays, ultrasounds, CT scans, and MRIs.
What conservative treatments can ease my joint pain?
Treatments for joint pain vary according to the cause of your condition. For instance, a fracture might require manual or surgical realignment of the bones followed by immobilization in a cast or splint. Sprains and strains might also need rest and some form of support.
Physical therapy can help damaged joints heal and keep you mobile. It’s also an effective way of stopping arthritis from making your joints get too stiff.
You might benefit from medication to relieve pain and inflammation in the joints. Regenerative medicine treatments like platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy promote tissue repair.
What if conservative treatments do not help my joint pain?
If your joint pain isn't responding to conservative treatments, or you have a chronic condition like arthritis in your knee, hip, or sacroiliac joints, steroid injections might help to reduce inflammation and related pain.
Another injectable treatment available at Pinnacle Pain and Spine is viscosupplementation. This contains a natural lubricant called hyaluronic acid, which helps reduce friction between the bones in your joints.
Persistent knee pain might benefit from radiofrequency ablation, which uses heat to safely destroy the pain nerves in the joint.
To find out why you have joint pain and receive the most effective treatments for your condition, call Pinnacle Pain and Spine or book an appointment online today.
