Polyarthralgia, a medical term that describes pain affecting multiple joints simultaneously, can be frustrating to live with. Imagine waking up with soreness and pain in your wrists, arms, knees, hips, and several other joints.
The pain could range from mild aches, which usually happen due to physical overexertion and viral infections, to sharp pain. Finding out the underlying cause of the pain is the first step in getting the right joint pain treatment in Navi Mumbai. Here’s a look at the common underlying issues linked to widespread joint pain.
Viral Infections
Post-viral-infection joint pain occurs because of the viruses causing inflammation throughout your body. This makes your joints stiff, sore, and extremely painful. Certain viral infections, such as COVID-19, chikungunya, and parvovirus, are linked to widespread joint pain. The pain can last for several days or a few weeks, depending on the virus.
Rheumatoid Arthritis
In this autoimmune disorder, your immune system mistakenly attacks your joints, causing inflammation and joint stiffness. The commonly affected joints are the wrists, feet, and hands, although the condition can affect any joint.
Common signs include pain, tenderness, and stiffness in the joint, which often worsens after waking up. You must see an orthopedic doctor in Navi Mumbai if you have rheumatoid arthritis symptoms, as prolonged inflammation can cause long-term joint damage.
Gout
High uric acid levels in your blood can lead to crystals in your joint, causing sudden severe joint pain, swelling, redness, and warmth. Although it primarily affects your big toe, gout can affect multiple joints simultaneously, especially if you have consistently high uric acid levels in the blood.
Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis refers to age and wear-related stiffness in your joints. It happens when the protective cushion, called cartilage, wears down, causing your bones to rub against each other during movements. Common symptoms include pain, swelling, and stiffness, which get worse with certain physical activities, such as running, climbing stairs, or standing for long periods.
It usually affects the weight-bearing joints, such as the knees, spine, hips, and hands. It doesn’t cause pain in every joint simultaneously, but osteoarthritis in different joints can cause widespread joint pain.
Lupus
It’s another autoimmune disease associated with an overactive immune system. Your immune system attacks the tissues around the lining of your joint. A common symptom is symmetrical joint pain, which affects multiple joints on the same side, such as both hands, wrists, and knees.
Fibromyalgia
Fibromyalgia affects the way your brain and nervous system process pain signals. It causes widespread pain throughout the body.
Fibromyalgia isn’t a joint disease, nor does it cause joint inflammation, but the sharp, burning pain feels like it’s coming from the joint. Those with fibromyalgia might experience headaches, muscle aches, brain fog, poor sleep, fatigue, and tenderness all over the body.
When Should You See an Orthopedic Doctor About Joint Pain?
Occasional joint pain that occurs after hours of strenuous activity, such as prolonged walking, running, or sports, is usually harmless. Persistent pain that affects multiple joints at the same time deserves medical attention. See an orthopedic specialist if you have joint pain accompanied by swelling, severe weakness, warmth, redness, morning stiffness, fatigue, and unexplained weight loss.