Joint pain sometimes worries even a completely healthy person.
It is impossible to determine the source of discomfort without the proper level of knowledge, and therefore it is impossible to say what caused the pain.
According to statistics, various joint pathologies affect every seventh person on our planet.
About 30% of patients as a result of diseases of the musculoskeletal system become disabled.
These formidable statistics eloquently testify in favor of the need to pay maximum attention to your health, even with minimal discomfort.
To be fully armed you need to learn more about the pathologies that most often affect the joints.
Joints hurt when walking: causes
The list of diseases in which joints hurt when walking is amazing. All the reasons why pain occurs can be grouped as follows:
• Inflammatory diseases.
• Degenerative inflammatory processes.
• Post-traumatic pathological processes.
• Metabolic disorders.
These four groups of pathologies include a huge number of diseases. Consider the most common.
Inflammatory diseases
Often they become the reason that when walking the knee joint hurts. More rarely, the disease affects the ankle. The leading inflammatory disease is arthritis. Arthritis is a degenerative joint damage caused by external causes. Over time, the affected joints are destroyed, leaving the patient no chance even of walking. In medical practice, several types of this insidious disease are distinguished.
Rheumatoid arthritis. Not to be confused with rheumatism. Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease. The mechanism of its development is still not fully understood. It is assumed that the previous infectious lesion, which resulted in a malfunction in the immune system, is blamed for all and the protective system begins to attack healthy cells. This is the most insidious type of arthritis: it is difficult to detect because it has blurry symptoms and "in all its glory" comes to the fore in the advanced stages.
Infectious arthritis. It can develop after injuries, as well as in the presence of a focus of infection in the body.
Psoriatic arthritis. It is relatively rare. It affects patients with psoriasis.
Degenerative inflammatory processes
The leading pathology of this group is arthrosis. Unlike arthritis, arthrosis develops as a result of internal causes. We are talking about dystrophy of the articular tissue when the cartilage is undernourished. Arthrosis is a real scourge of people engaged in heavy physical labor. Its manifestations are in many ways similar to the symptoms of arthritis. Therefore, independently differentiate pathological processes will not work. It affects mainly the knee joints. Therefore, according to statistics, arthrosis is in 3rd place among the reasons why the knee joint hurts when walking.
Trochenteritis is somewhat less common. This disease is the reason why the hip joint hurts when walking. At risk are women over the age of 35.
Post-traumatic pathological processes
As a result of injuries, the joint may be damaged. The problem can make itself felt a few months and even years after the injury. Most often, such patients develop post-traumatic or infectious arthritis, so after injuries you need to carefully listen to your body.
Metabolic disorders
Often, the cause of diseases of the musculoskeletal system may not be obvious. If a person aged 25 to 50 years has an ankle joint when walking, and he does not know what to do, the reason may lie in metabolic disorders. Surely many have heard of gout.
Gout is a disease caused by a violation of purine metabolism in the body. As a result, urate salts are deposited in small crystals in the joint cavity. The immune system begins to attack foreign objects: a strong inflammation is initiated.
Gout most commonly affects small joints (especially the big toes). In second place is the ankle. Therefore, if the ankle joint hurts when walking and the patient does not know what to do, it can be gout.
A somewhat less common metabolic disease of another kind is chondrocalcinosis. A similar development mechanism, however, calcium salts are already being deposited. Unlike gout, chondrocalcinosis often causes the knee joint to hurt when walking.
Joints hurt when walking: diagnosis
A complete diagnosis of joint diseases is not an easy task. In solving the issue, doctors of different specialties can be involved:
• Orthopedist - a leading physician who deals with the problems of the musculoskeletal system.
• The surgeon. It will help you navigate with the further diagnostic strategy.
• Nephrologist - helps along with an orthopedist in the treatment of gout.
• Endocrinologist.
• Traumatologist.
The first doctor to visit is a surgeon. He will help to figure out a further plan of action.
The diagnostic strategy is typical for any localization of the pathological process.
• Survey of the patient (history taking). It consists in clarifying the general condition of the patient, the nature and limitation of his complaints. This is not idle curiosity, so the doctor makes a general picture of a probable disease in his head, hypothesizes and determines with a further examination strategy. Therefore, the patient should answer all questions clearly and as detailed as possible.
• Inspection. A visual assessment allows you to suspect certain pathologies at the stage of the initial examination.
• Palpation. Physical examination helps identify many diseases, including arthritis.
• Radiography. X-ray examination is recognized as one of the most informative and accessible. It all depends on the professionalism of the doctor who describes the pictures. In the presence of high-quality images and a competent description, the diagnosis is not difficult.
• Mr. Tomographic research worldwide is recognized as the gold standard for diagnosis. However, in the CIS countries it still remains inaccessible to most patients.
• Ultrasound joints. Allows you to assess the condition of the articular bag
• Puncture of the joint. If infectious arthritis or traumatic joint damage is suspected, a puncture is performed. The liquid is examined for the presence of microorganisms, blood, fibrin.
• Arthroscopy. Through a small puncture, a camera is inserted into the joint. Arthroscopy makes it possible to visually assess the internal structures of the joint.
Together, these studies make it possible to determine the diagnosis with absolute accuracy.
Joint pain: treatment
Regardless of the nature of the lesion, the methods and approach to treatment remain the same. Mostly conservative drug treatment is practiced. Surgical intervention is prescribed only for advanced arthritis or severe traumatic joint damage.
The following groups of drugs are used in the treatment of diseases of the musculoskeletal system:
• Anti-inflammatory (non-hormonal). Called to relieve inflammation and relieve pain. Ineffective in severe diseases.
• Hormonal anti-inflammatory. Assigned less frequently. Usually injected into the joint cavity.
• Analgesics. Their main task is to relieve pain.
• Chondroprotectors. They slow down or completely stop the destruction of the affected joint.
• Antibacterial drugs. They are prescribed for reactive (infectious) arthritis.
• Uricosuric preparations. They are used to treat gout.
The specific names of the drugs are selected by the doctor. Self-medication is unacceptable. In exceptional cases, short-term use of anti-inflammatory (Ketorolac, etc.) and analgesics (Baralgin and others) for the relief of pain is allowed. However, one should not abuse it: the pathology picture will be blurred. No need to complicate the work of the doctor.
Regardless of whether the hip joint or other joints hurt when walking, you can not do without the help of a doctor. The reason may lie in any pathology. It is possible to identify the initial cause only after a full diagnosis. The timeliness of the examination also determines how effective the treatment will be. Do not neglect your own health. At the first sign of discomfort, it is recommended that you immediately contact a specialist.
