Joint Pain: Causes, Symptoms, and Effective Treatment Options

Author: Dr Nnenna Chiloli MBBS, MPH. Reviewed by Dr Azuka Chinweokwu Ezeike, MBBS, FWACS, FMCOG, MSc (PH)

Highlights:

• Joint pain is a big health problem that many people face around the globe and at any age.
• It can show up in any part of your body, but mostly affects the knees, hips, hands, feet, back, and shoulders.
• It can be caused by injury, infections, some disease conditions, and exposure to dust and chemicals.
• Obesity, increasing age, previous injury, family history of joint pain, exposure to tobacco smoke, and female sex are some of the predisposing factors.
• Patient complaints, physical assessment or examination, and laboratory investigations are important in the diagnosis.
• The right treatment at the right time can cut down on pain, stop more harm, and keep worse issues away.

Introduction.

“Have you ever felt like your joints are hurting even before you get out of bed?If you hurt when you walk, bend, or go upstairs, your joints might be trying to tell you something.What, therefore, lies beneath this struggling reality? Let’s discover the causes, risk factors, associated symptoms, and treatment options for joint pain.

A joint is where the ends of two or more of your bones converge or meet [1]. An example is the shoulder joint, where the upper arm bone, the shoulder blade, and the collarbone meet. Joints provide support and allow movement to the skeleton by holding them together. 

Some joints, such as those in the knee, shoulder, finger, and elbow, help you bend, stretch, or twist. Joints start to degenerate as we age because of disease conditions and normal wear and tear.

Joints are classified into three types based on the degree of movement allowed.

• Joints that cannot move at all, such as joints in the skull
• Joints that can move slightly, such as the pubic joint and joints of the backbone.
• Freely moving joints, like the shoulder, knee, and hip joints.

What is joint pain?

Joint pain is any discomfort, aching, or soreness you feel in or around a joint. It is a sign of sickness, injury, infection, or drug allergy and can affect one or more joints. It affects persons of all ages, including younger adults, adolescents, and children, but is more common in the older population, particularly females [1,2]. Pain can be just slight, reasonable, terrible, or incapacitating.

Arthritis, which is inflammation of the joint, is a common condition and the leading cause of joint pain, affecting about 250 million people around the globe [3]. Long-lasting joint pain and musculoskeletal disorders are the main causes of disability for people 65 years and older.

Pain in the joint may;

• Be persistent
• Come and go
• Prevent you from carrying out normal daily work

Common areas affected:

Although joint pain can occur anywhere on the body, it is most frequent in the following areas:

• Knees

Pain in the knees is common among the elderly and those with high-level activities, like athletes and members of the armed forces. Knee pain accounts for about 5% of all adult primary care visits [4].

• Hips- this is often linked to ageing. It can affect walking or sitting.
• Shoulders
• Hands and fingers
• Ankle
• Spine.

Causes of joint pain

So many factors and circumstances can cause joint pain, and they are as follows;

1. External factors

• Injury

Injury is a common cause of joint pain. It may be brought on by excessive use or pressure on the joints or by an effect that results in a strain, sprain, or fracture. Trauma from falls, accidents, or injuries can cause joint pain [5].

2. Ageing factors

• Degeneration of cartilage with age(Osteoarthritis)

3. Infections

• Infections by various microorganisms, including bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites, can cause joint pain [6,7].

4. Environmental factors

• Exposure to dust and chemicals in the environment or workplace, such as silica, heavy metals, can cause or worsen joint pain.

5. Health conditions.

Several disease conditions are associated with single or multiple joint pain. They include the following:

• Autoimmune diseases, for example, Rheumatoid arthritis.
• Gonorrhea. This is a cause of septic arthritis
• Tuberculosis- a serious illness that affects mainly the lungs but can spread to involve other areas of the body, including the bones and joints.

Risk factors of joint pain[5] include the following:

• Joint injury
• Job tasks that hurt joints, like bending, kneeling, squatting, etc.
• Old age- joint pain can happen at any age, but it's more common as you age
• Long-term health issues like Diabetes
• Obesity or overweight 
• Family history of joint pain
• Exposure to tobacco smoke
• Heavy alcohol consumption
• Not moving around much
• Female sex
• Depression, anxiety, and stress
• Menopuause
• Pregnancy- women frequently encounter pain in the pubic and sacroiliac joints during pregnancy due to softening and laxity of joint structures and abdominal pressure due to the growth of the fetus.

Symptoms of joint pain

The following are other symptoms that frequently accompany joint pain;

• Joint stiffness
• Joint swelling
• Joint tenderness
• Limited joint movement
• Weakness or joint instability

Treatment options for joint pain

Treatment for joint pain differs depending on the fundamental cause. Treatment is narrowed to a specific cause of the pain based on patient history, physical examination, and laboratory findings.  The main aims of treating all types of joint pain are:

• To end or ease pain
• Help healing
• Maintain function
• Stop or slow down the disease

Even if mild joint pain can be dealt with with care at home, getting help from a doctor is key, especially if the pain:     - Keeps coming back     -Is very bad     -Won’t go away. Various treatment options include:

1. Non-medical treatment [5]- they include;

• Specific exercise
• Weight reduction
• Physical therapy to reinforce muscles surrounding the affected joints.
• Applying a heating pad or ice to the affected areas for short periods.
• Use of crutches or braces to avoid unnecessary stress on the painful joint.

2. Medical treatment– frequently used medications are,

• Oral and topical (applied to the skin) pain-relieving drugs like Acetaminophen and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
• Steroids can relieve pain and swelling.
• Antibiotics

3. Surgery [1]- Surgical options include the following;

• Joint fusion–where the ends of the bones are fastened together.
• Arthroscopy( a procedure that uses a thin, flexible instrument (arthroscope) to view the joint to see the extent of damage and to treat various bones, tendons, and ligaments problems.
•  Realignment or reshaping of the long bones to take pressure off the damaged portion of the joint (osteotomy).
• Joint replacement–Surgery to replace joints is used in severe cases. It can reduce pain, restore movement, and improve quality of life for most people with severely affected joints[5].

Prevention of joint pain:

Some strategies have been shown to play key roles in the prevention of some form of joint pain[5]. They include;

• Exercise
• Maintaining normal body weight 
• Reducing the overuse of joints
• Cutting down on being around dust, silica, and other work risks 
• Quitting smoking
• Eating healthy foods

When to see a doctor:

See a doctor if you notice any of these body changes:

• Stiff or enlarged joints [1]
• Pain when moving
• Noise or grinding sounds when moving your joints
• Joint swelling, hotness, and redness
• Joint pain with new skin rashes
• Joint pain with sores in the mouth or on your private parts
• Joint pain with fever, chills, or sweating

Conclusion

Joint pain is common and can stop you from moving well and doing your daily work. It may come from hurt, getting older, or health issues.To make you feel better and live well, you need to find out about it early, eat well, and keep your joints safe. Cut down on harmful chemicals and stress at work on your joints to stay active longer. 

If you hurt in your joints or aren’t sure what’s wrong, don’t just sit on it. Go see a doctor. Early identification of the cause and fast treatment can stop worse problems and make life better. Contact your doctor anytime you feel pain in the joints and or are at risk of developing joint pain, for a stitch in time saves nine.

References: 

1. Cleveland Clinic [Internet]. [cited 2025 Apr 15]. What is joint pain? Available from: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/symptoms/17752-joint-pain
2. Lites TD, Foster AL, Boring MA, Fallon EA, Odom EL, Seth P. Arthritis among children and adolescents aged <18 years - United States, 2017-2021. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2023 Jul 21;72(29):788–92.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/374771260/

3. Wu M, Liang Y, Han Q, Ai Z, Yan H, Xiang Z. Depression and risk of arthritis: A Mendelian randomization study. Brain Behav [Internet]. 2024 Jun 7 [cited 2025 Apr 7];14(6):e3551. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11161388/
4. Duong V, Oo WM, Ding C, Culvenor AG, Hunter DJ. Evaluation and treatment of knee pain: a review. JAMA. 2023 Oct 24;330(16):1568–80. Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37874571/
5. CDC. Arthritis. 2025 [cited 2025 May 3]. Arthritis basics. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/arthritis/basics/index.html
6. He M, Arthur Vithran DT, Pan L, Zeng H, Yang G, Lu B, et al. An update on recent progress of the epidemiology, etiology, diagnosis, and treatment of acute septic arthritis: a review. Front Cell Infect Microbiol [Internet]. 2023 May 2 [cited 2025 Apr 7];13:1193645. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10214960/
7. Mathew AJ, Ravindran V. Infections and arthritis. Best Pract Res Clin Rheumatol. 2014 Dec;28(6):935–59. Available from:https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26096095/

Disclaimer:
The information provided on this website is for general educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended to replace professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.

Published May 17, 2025