Joint problems often occur locally when a person has pain in a particular joint and can determine the location of the pain. But sometimes joint pain cannot be localized because all or several joints hurt at the same time. In this case, it is premature to talk about rheumatoid arthritis, because in addition to this pathology there are other diseases in which the pain covers all the joints of the musculoskeletal system.
The attentive physician, who will analyze the patient's complaints and identify the causal relationships, can identify the reasons why all the joints hurt at the same time. Determining the diagnosis is not always so easy and with the most common general symptoms it is not possible to identify a specific pathology immediately after a series of tests. Therefore, if systemic joint pain occurs, do not delay a visit to the doctor.
If all joints of the musculoskeletal system are seriously ill, there may be the following reasons:
- Pathologies of autoimmune origin and systemic allergic reactions.
- Rheumatoid arthritis.
- Osteoarthritis.
- Chronic fatigue, increased physical activity.
- Intoxication of the body.
- Blood diseases.
When pain occurs in several or all joints, one must remember at once that such a situation is only a reaction to certain diseases, but not independent diseases. The only exceptions may be pathologies such as osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, when the immediate cause lies in damage to the cartilage itself.
Rheumatoid arthritis
The disease refers to chronic autoimmune pathologies in which the joints throughout the body are primarily affected. A distinctive feature of rheumatoid arthritis is the involvement of many joints in the pathological process.
At the same time, cytokines, metalloproteinase and chemotactic cytokines play a key role in the inflammatory process. These are anti-inflammatory elements that activate the activity of the human body's own immune cells. As a result, they move to the site of inflammation, that is, to the joints of the human body, and provoke a typical inflammatory response.
A typical manifestation of rheumatoid arthritis is damage to the peripheral joints and symmetrically. When the disease worsens, the pathology affects the larger joints. The pathology mainly affects women, three times less often in men. It is diagnosed between the ages of thirty and fifty, but can sometimes occur in adolescents - this condition is called juvenile arthritis.
Despite the fact that scientists have clarified the immune nature of the disease, it is still not possible to determine the exact cause of rheumatoid arthritis - why anti-inflammatory cells acquire such pathological activity. To date, a genetic predisposition to rheumatoid arthritis has been proven and it has also been stated that negative factors such as smoking, transmission of viral diseases and so on affect the occurrence of pathologies.
The course of the disease is due to the activation of immune complexes, which are produced by the synovial membrane and are located in the blood vessels. Rheumatoid factors - antibodies produced to these complexes - are a quick reaction to them. And in some cases they appear on their own, without the presence of provoking factors.
HELP!At an early stage in the development of the pathology, macrophages migrate to the affected areas, after some time the number of lymphocytes there increases. The release of inflammatory mediators and provokes the development of the pathological process throughout the body.
If a chronic lesion of the synovium occurs, then instead of its usual thickness it becomes denser and coarser, grows and folds form in the form of forks on its surface. Synovial fluid cells produce stromelysin and collagenase, which promote destructive processes in cartilage tissue. The inflammatory process is intensified by the production of prostaglandins, fibrin deposits and necrotic processes appear.
Overgrown synovial tissue provokes inflammatory mediators that contribute to the destruction not only of cartilage but also of bone tissue, ligaments and joint capsule. The number of leukocytes in the joint fluid itself increases.
The small joints of the body are covered with characteristic rheumatoid nodules when the joint changes shape and becomes ugly in appearance. The contents of such rheumatoid nodules are the necrotic part of macrophages, fibroblasts and plasma cells. Such nodes can be found in the internal organs.
The disease progresses gradually. Patients suffer from general and local joint manifestations - there is a characteristic stiffness in the joints in the morning, there is fatigue, loss of appetite, fever to subfebrile. The condition of the joints becomes much better about an hour after waking up. The joints are affected symmetrically and usually rheumatoid arthritis affects the following joints:
- Wrist.
- Second and third metacarpophalangeal.
- Shoulder.
- Knees.
- ankles.
- Hip.
- Elbows.
In fact, the disease threatens every joint of the musculoskeletal system. The distal phalangeal joints as well as the elements of the axial skeleton are rarely involved.
Joints remain inflamed, swollen and red, and hot to the touch. To minimize painful sensations, patients try to keep their joints flexed - this way they hurt less. The progression of the disease occurs in the first 5-6 years after the appearance of the first pathological changes. And already ten years after the development of the pathology, irreversible changes appear in the patients.
During this time, patients develop significant joint deformities, instability may occur. When the nerve branches are compressed, patients suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome, and in rheumatoid arthritis of the knee joint, patients face Baker's cyst, deep vein thrombosis, etc.
In parallel with the joint changes, extra-articular manifestations of the body are observed, which develop with the progression of the pathology in every third patient. Examples of such manifestations may be rheumatoid nodules in the lungs, vasculitis, Felty's syndrome, myocarditis.
Diagnosing the disease is not that difficult. Typical clinical criteria for rheumatoid arthritis are demonstrated in the blood, the erythrocyte sedimentation rate increases, C-reactive protein and rheumatoid factor are detected in significant amounts.
Patients' health is indicated on an X-ray, which is done when rheumatoid arthritis is suspected. The disease is distinguished from osteoarthritis, sarcoidosis, psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis, arthritis developed on the background of hepatitis C.
IMPORTANT!When making a diagnosis it is necessary to take into account that the disease has a fairly high lethal outcome, but in rheumatoid arthritis is not associated with joint damage, but with pathological changes in the heart, internal bleeding.
The treatment of the disease is carried out with maintenance therapy, as well as with powerful NSAIDs. It is recommended to give adequate load to the joints, to add exercise therapy. If necessary, surgery is performed.
Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis is another common pathology that can affect both large and small joints. Various factors can provoke osteoarthritis, which primarily has a negative effect on the cartilage of the joint. Cartilage tissue in the human body performs several functions and in the first place becomes a shock absorber in the process of various movements. Constant stress leads to increased wear of cartilage.
If people with good health and strong immunity have a chance to repair damaged tissues, then in elderly patients, as well as in patients with increased stress on the joint, the synthesis of new fibers almost does not occur and cartilage tissue is not restored. Osteoarthritis has traditionally been thought to be the result of mechanical impact on tissues, but doctors now view previously transmitted inflammatory diseases as factors in the development of systemic osteoarthritis.
A typical symptom of the disease is pain in all joints, as the matrix loses extremely important substances - glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate. The lack of these elements leads to the so-called dislocation of the joint, ie cracks of different depths appear in the cartilage tissue.
Inflammatory processes can also disrupt the normal structure of cartilage tissue, which is why, when localized in the subchondral part of the bone, doctors often diagnose microfractures in patients. The edges of the bone in the joint are covered with growths - osteophytes. They serve to compensate for the worn part of the cartilage, but in fact bring even more negative feelings to patients.
Menopausal women are most susceptible to osteoarthritis.
As the true cause of osteoarthritis is unclear, doctors have identified several factors that contribute to the development of the disease:
- Congenital insufficiency of cartilage tissue, which is very easy to injure. For example, patients with such pathology develop flat feet, dislocations are often diagnosed - complete and incomplete.
- Gender is also one of the factors in the development of the disease, as according to statistics, osteoarthritis is twice as common in women than in men.
- Age characteristic - the disease usually develops in patients over forty-five years, in women it coincides with the menopause.
- Obesity.
- Metabolic problems.
- Increased sports load on the joints.
- Traumatic joint injuries.
The disease develops in each joint, but usually the starting joint is the one with the most physical activity. It can be localized in the knee joints, hip joint, elbow, etc.
The symptoms of the disease are very obvious, so osteoarthritis cannot be missed. In a person with an increased load, the joints immediately begin to hurt, while the strength of the discomfort can be different: from a slight whimper in the joint to the most severe sharp pain in the joint. When performing movements, the pain increases, and at rest it becomes less pronounced.
In parallel with the pain, patients suffer from cracked joints, stiffness. Patients have limited movement. Especially in the moments of disease progression, when reflex muscle spasms are added to the pathology.
At a later stage of the disease, patients develop a characteristic blockage of the joint - this is acute pain when the joint suddenly stops moving due to the appearance of severe pain in the joint. This is due to the penetration of fragments of cartilage tissue into the cavity, blocking movement. If the disease is accompanied by inflammation, then there is swelling of the synovial membrane, which is easy to visualize.
The development of osteoarthritis is quite individual. In some patients, X-rays show signs of pathology progression, but the sensation of the disease does not appear to change. At the same time, other patients experience severe pain, inflammation and limited movement when the joint itself in the picture looks satisfactory, depending on the stage of development of the pathology.
The diagnosis of the disease is based on X-ray data and clinical signs of the disease. In parallel, you can do an ultrasound scan or magnetic resonance imaging if there is a need to assess the presence of complications.
Doctors try to treat the disease, taking into account the maximum preservation of joint mobility and the patient's ability to work by profession. That is why it is extremely important in therapy to stop the progression of the disease, to eliminate the pain in the joint and to relieve the inflammation.
Currently, the treatment options for osteoarthritis are not unlimited and treatment tactics are difficult to recognize as successful because it is not possible to restore the joints. The disease goes into a chronic stage and you have to constantly fight it.
TIP!Nevertheless, such unfortunate prognoses do not doom patients to disability - with successful therapy you can learn to live with osteoarthritis and even maintain physical activity.
For treatment, doctors use the following groups of drugs:
- Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
- Glucocorticosteroids.
- Chondroprotectors.
- Means for activating blood circulation.
- Muscle relaxants.
The treatment of diseases consists mainly of drugs that can maximally restore cartilage tissue and establish metabolic processes in the joint. Therefore, the main emphasis is on chondroprotectors, the use of which begins immediately after the removal of inflammation. Treatment with chondroprotectors is long-term and the best result appears only with timely treatment.
Other diseases
Rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis are the most common pathologies in which the joints ache and ache throughout the body. But in addition to morbidity leaders, there are other conditions that provoke joint pain.
Joint pain can be a manifestation of leukemia.
Inflamed joints can be a manifestation of blood diseases. Hematological pathologies today are the most difficult not only for diagnosis by physicians, but also for therapy. They are often accompanied by a cancerous factor and the diseases acquire a completely different meaning for the patient. Usually the joints in the whole body suffer from leukemia - acute and chronic. At the same time, patients do not even suspect what this means, as the results of blood tests do not show abnormalities.
Arthralgia is not isolated, not only joint elements but also bones and muscles are affected. Therefore, doctors advise patients with long-term pain, it is imperative to consult not only with an orthopedic traumatologist or surgeon, but also with a hematologist, who may suspect pathology and send the patient for further examination.
Intoxication of the body is another cause of joint pain. The fact is that the joints react extremely sharply to the entry of toxins into the body and if they begin to hurt and twist the joints, then the impact of occupational risks, intoxication with household waste, smoking and alcoholism may be to blame. Patients suffer from extremely unpleasant symptoms - all joints ache, as if the general condition of the body suffers from the flu.
Improving patients' health is possible after diagnosis. Detoxification therapy is performed, the blood is purified and therefore the joint fluid from toxins.
Most important
Pain in all joints of the body is not always related to the pathology of the joints themselves. If the joints of the body are affected, then usually the cause is rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis. The symptoms increase rapidly and the pathological process in the joints progresses.
In other cases, when joint pain is not associated with joint damage, the discomfort may be a manifestation of systemic diseases, such as blood leukemia, as well as osteoporosis, intoxication of the body and infection. Dealing with the disease is not so easy, but it is much more difficult to diagnose the disease. Patients with joint pain should contact the clinic in a timely manner to begin treatment at an early stage.