Arthritis Knee Pain - Joint Pain Causes

Understanding what causes joint pain is important because it helps you better prevent and feel joint pain. Fortunately there are many joint pain treatments to allow you to live a normal life and enjoy daily activities, and depending on the cause of the pain, relief can be temporary or permanent.

Causes of joint pain may change, and may be associated with many conditions other than Arthritis. Our joints are cooled by the cartilage and supported by muscles, tendons and ligaments. Daily activity, aging, injury, obesity and repetitive movements all place pressure on the joints and eventually cause the support structure to wear over time. Common causes include unusual or excessive use of joints including strains or sprains, injuries (including bone fractures), gout (especially in the big toe), Tendonitis, Bursitis and Lupus. Causes can also include contagious diseases such as Influenza, Measles, Rheumatic Fever, Hepatitis, German measles and Water Disorders. When joints break down, people are often released and made to change their daily routine due to the nature of the pain. Practicing good health routines and diets can also help eliminate the need for joint pain relief.

Let's look at the causes of joint pain as it is directly related to Arthritis.

Arthritis is an inflammation of one or more joints caused by wear, tear, or any infection. There are over 100 different types of Arthritis - all causing pain and swelling and limiting movement of the joints and connective tissue. This inflammatory condition is most commonly seen in older people. It comes from two Greek words, athron means joint and itis means inflammation. It affects nearly half of the world's population and, in the United States alone, about 50 million people develop some form of arthritis. Arthritis is more common than cancer and heart problems although it does not have the associated mortality.

Osteoarthritis, the most common joint disorder, results from loss of bone tissue from the joints and is also known as "wear and tear" Arthritis. Osteoarthritis involves bone growth and cartilage degeneration in the joints. Symptoms usually occur in middle age and are common in adults over 50. It is interesting that as the age of the patient increases the incidence is more likely in women, and there are many studies on the relationship between Osteoarthritis and Menopause. This is mainly related to aging but other factors such as one's metabolism and genetic history can all be affected. Often patients with a history of taking certain medications, such as corticosteroids, can also be easier.

Rheumatoid Arthritis is an autoimmune disease that causes joint inflammation to cause stiffness and pain. Usually our bodies are very good at taking care of viruses and so on, but when the immune system is not functioning, it confuses healthy tissue with foreign substances and attacks itself. The ligaments and tendons that accompany the bones and muscles become inflamed and the result is joint pain. Rheumatoid arthritis can be treated effectively with medications, although some treatments may have difficult side-effects. The disease can occur at any age but most likely occurs in women. The course and severity of the illness can vary, with some patients suffering for years while their medications work well. Infections, genes, and hormones may contribute to this disease.

Both Rheumatoid and Osteoarthritis are major contributors to joint pain.

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