Why your joints can be a pain

Joint pain (also known as rheumatic pain) can affect all of us at some time, particularly as we get older. You have hundreds of joints in your body designed to give you support and help you move with ease. But if your joints have been damaged by an injury or disease, it can cause aches and pains that affect your ability to move around normally. 

Joint pain can be in a single joint or affect multiple joints at the same time. Any joint in your body can be affected, but knee pain is probably the most common. 

What's causing your joint pain?

Joint pain can be caused by many different injuries or conditions. Examples of joint pain include: 

• Overuse, stress or direct trauma to the joint (e.g. during exercise) 
• Fractures that don’t heal properly 
• Tendonitis (inflammation and irritation of a tendon) attached to a joint 
• Sprains and strains of a ligament(e.g. sport’s injuries) 
• Underlying disease (e.g. osteoarthritis, gout) 

Please speak to your doctor or pharmacist regarding your joint pain as there are many causes and they will be able to advise you on the correct treatment for you. 

Tips to help relieve joint pain

When your joints are aching, here are some tips that might help bring you relief:

• Self-care: avoid moving your joint in ways that worsen the pain. 
• Keep healthy: eat healthy foods and try to maintain a healthy weight to help reduce stress to your joints. 
• Stay active: regular, appropriate exercise, as well as stretching and strengthening exercises can help with joint pain relief. Speak to your physiotherapist or healthcare professional if you’re unsure what exercises you should do. 

Seek immediate medical care if your joint pain is the result of an injury, particularly if you have intense pain, sudden swelling, joint deformity or are unable to move the joint.