Joints form connections between bones, providing support and helping you move. Any joint damage due to disease or an injury can affect your movement and cause pain. Joint pain can affect anyone, but it is common as you age and can affect any body part, from your ankles and feet to your knees and ankles. Usually, healthcare providers recommend conservative treatments like medications, topical agents, injections, and physical therapy to alleviate joint pain. However, if your pain doesn’t improve with conservative treatments, Venice joint replacement may be an option. Painful joints may be due to different conditions such as:
Broken bone
Broken bones or fractures are usually caused by falls, sports injuries, or car accidents. Anyone can fracture a bone, but medical conditions like osteoporosis and repetitive forces like running increase your risk of certain fractures. Sometimes immobilization using a cast, splint, brace, or sling is enough to treat a broken bone, but sometimes surgery may be needed. Classic symptoms of a bone fracture include pain, swelling, tenderness, bruising or discoloration, inability to move a specific body part, and a deformity or bump.
Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis; it occurs when the protective carriage cushioning the joints wear down. Over time, the cartilage wears down completely, allowing bones to rub against each other as you move. Besides cartilage damage, osteoarthritis affects the entire joint. The disease causes joint lining inflammation, bone changes, and deterioration of connective tissues that hold joints together.
Ankylosing spondylitis
Ankylosing spondylitis is an inflammatory disease that occurs gradually and can cause some vertebral bones to fuse. As a result, the spine becomes less flexible, resulting in a hunched posture. If the fusing happens in the ribs, you may have breathing difficulties. This disease is more likely to affect men than women, and symptoms typically begin in adulthood. The inflammation is not limited to the vertebrae; it can also affect other body parts, including the eyes. Ankylosing spondylitis has no cure, but treatments can help minimize symptoms and reduce disease progression.
Bone cancer
Bone cancer most commonly affects the pelvis or long bones in the legs or arms but can begin in any bone in the body. It is a rare type of cancer that makes up less than one percent of all cancers; non-benign bone tumors are more common than cancerous ones. The term bone cancer does not refer to cancers that began in other places and spread to the bone. Such cancers are named for where they started; for example, cervical cancer that is metastasized to the bone.
Some types of bone cancer are common in children, while others primarily affect adults. Surgical removal is the most common treatment for bone cancer, but specialists may also utilize chemotherapy and radiation therapy. The type of treatment your healthcare provider recommends depends on the type of bone cancer you have. There is no known cause for bone cancer, but a small number of bone cancers are linked to hereditary factors and previous radiation exposure.
Do you have chronic joint pain that affects your quality of life negatively? Reserve a session with your doctor at 360 Orthopedics to discuss your treatment options.
