Understanding The Causes Of Joint Pain And Swelling

Conditions Associated With Pain And Swelling In The Joints

Effusion – or the abnormal build-up of fluids in the tissues that surround the joint – can lead to severe and sustained swelling. In turn, a swollen joint will lead to stiffness, reduced mobility, and pain.

Swelling is considered to be a normal part of the body’s inflammatory response: the body increases the circulation of blood and fluids around the site of injury to promote healing and fight back harmful microorganisms, like bacteria and viruses.

While temporary swelling should not affect your health in the long term, inflammatory and degenerative diseases of the joints can cause you to deal with swelling for months at a time.

Joint and pain swelling can be caused by a range of conditions, including:

• Different forms of arthritis, including spondylitis, gout, osteoarthritis, psoriatic arthritis, reactive arthritis, and septic arthritis
• Disorders of the immune system like lupus
• Inflammatory conditions like bursitis and tendinitis 
• Traumatic injuries like fractures, broken bones, and dislocations 
• Thyroid disorders such as having an underactive thyroid

You may also be at greater risk of developing chronic joint pain and swelling if you have had previous joint injuries, tend to overuse your joints, have arthritis, suffer from poor health and conditioning, and have depression or anxiety. Studies have also confirmed the direct correlation between obesity and being overweight and an increased risk of developing joint conditions.

To determine what’s causing your joint pain, your doctor may use a series of diagnostic tests, including a thorough review of your symptoms and medical history, a physical examination, a complete blood count, and imaging tests.

Below, we’ll look at the conditions that most commonly lead to joint pain and swelling.

Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis is a form of arthritis, an inflammatory condition that causes the deterioration of the cartilage – the “cushioning” substance located around the joint’s components. Also known as “wear and tear” arthritis, osteoarthritis tends to occur due to aging, overuse, mechanical problems, poor posture, and obesity.

As the cartilage breaks down, the bones begin to rub against each other during movement. This can cause the progressive deterioration of the bones and surrounding tissues, such as ligaments and tendons. Over time, the sustained high levels of inflammation cause joint pain, stiffness, and swelling, as well as clicking noises, catching sensations, and severely reduced mobility.

Rheumatoid Arthritis

Affecting over 1.3 million people just in the US, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is the most common form of autoimmune arthritis. Being an autoimmune disorder, RA occurs when the immune system mistakenly attacks healthy cells and tissues in the body.

In particular, the immune system attacks the membranes that line and protect your joints. Over time, the sustained high levels of inflammation combined with the ongoing damage to the joint’s components cause fluid to build up in the tissues around the joint. The swelling and inflammation damage cartilage, bones,  ligaments, and tendons, and cause the joints to appear deformed.

Gout

Gout is a common and extremely painful form of inflammatory arthritis. This condition occurs when there is an increase in uric acid in the body, which leads to the abnormal build-up of uric acid and needle-like crystals in the joints.

The uric acid, which is created by the body to break down certain substances, is normally dissolved in the blood and expelled through urination. However, too much of this substance is produced, it can begin to damage and break down components of the joint, such as the cartilage. Some of the key symptoms of gout include joint pain and swelling, but you may also notice tenderness and red skin, flaky, or peeling skin.

Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition that can cause severe “widespread pain” in your joints, muscles, and throughout the body. The pain can be severe, affect both sides of the body, and worsen over time.

However, this isn’t a joint-specific disease like arthritis and it does not cause inflammation. Although current studies show that fibromyalgia may be caused by dysfunction of the immune system or the nervous system, research is ongoing to determine the causes and nature of this condition.

Although fibromyalgia does not cause damage to joints or muscles, people with this condition often experience arthritis-like symptoms, which include extreme fatigue, persistent joint pain, deep muscular aching, stiffness, burning and throbbing sensations, and abnormal feelings like numbness and tingling.

The pain caused by fibromyalgia changes in location and intensity over time, and it can be aggravated by factors like anxiety, stress, depression, sleep deprivation, exertion, and exposure to unfavorable weather conditions.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Chronic fatigue syndrome, also known by its more scientific name, “myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME),” is a complex disorder identified by extreme fatigue.

It’s a condition that cannot be explained by any underlying medical condition. The fatigue associated with CFS cannot be improved by rest and can even worsen with physical or mental activity.

Edema

Edema is a medical condition that causes an excess of fluid to gather in your body’s tissues, including the joints. It usually occurs in the feet, lower legs, and ankles, but can affect any area of the body.

This build-up of fluids can result in swelling and subsequent joint pain. Although aging can make edema more likely, this condition is often caused by heart disease, liver disease, kidney disease, and any other disorder that hinders your body’s ability to remove excess fluids from its system.

Symptoms can range from a feeling of heaviness and stiffness to visible swelling in the affected areas, and intense pain when moving the impacted joints. Characterized by its sudden onset, edema can either be acute or chronic depending on the underlying cause and severity of your symptoms.