Joint problems often occur locally when a person feels pain in a specific joint and can identify the exact location of the pain. But sometimes joint pain cannot be localized, because all or several joints at the same time hurt. It is premature to talk about rheumatoid arthritis in this case, because, in addition to this pathology, there are other diseases in which the pain covers all the joints of the musculoskeletal system.
A careful doctor who will analyze the patient's complaints and identify cause and effect relationships can identify the reasons why all the joints hurt at the same time. Determining the diagnosis is far from always so simple, and with the most common general symptoms, it is not possible to distinguish a specific pathology immediately, after a series of examinations. Therefore, in case of systemic joint pain, do not delay the visit to the doctor.
If all joints in 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 appears in several or all joints, it should be immediately remembered that such a situation is only a reaction to some diseases, but not to independent diseases. The only exceptions may be conditions such as osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, when the immediate cause is damage to the cartilage itself.
Rheumatoid arthritis
Illness refers to chronic autoimmune conditions in which the joints throughout the body are primarily affected. A distinctive feature of rheumatoid arthritis is the involvement of many joints in the disease process.
At the same time, cytokines, metalloproteinases 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, i. e. to the joints of the human body, and cause a typical inflammatory response.
A typical manifestation of rheumatoid arthritis is damage to the peripheral and symmetrical joints. When the disease worsens, the pathology affects the larger joints. Pathology mainly affects women, in men it occurs three times less often. It is diagnosed between the ages of thirty and fifty, but sometimes it can also appear in adolescents - this disease is called juvenile arthritis.
Although scientists have clarified the immune nature of the disease, it is still not possible to establish 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 is also indicated that negative factors such as smoking, transmission of viral diseases, etc. , influence the appearance of pathologies.
The course of the disease is due to the activation of immune complexes, which are produced by the synovial membrane and are found in the blood vessels. Rheumatoid factors - antibodies produced against 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 increases there. The release of inflammatory mediators and provokes the development of the pathological process throughout the body.
If a chronic lesion of the synovium occurs, instead of its usual thickness, it becomes denser and coarser, grows and bends in the form of villi form on its surface. The cells of the synovial fluid produce stromelysin and collagenase, which contributes to destructive processes in the cartilage tissue. The inflammatory process is enhanced by the production of prostaglandins, fibrin deposits and necrotic processes appear.
The invaded synovial tissue causes inflammatory mediators which contribute to the destruction not only of cartilage, but also of bone tissue, ligaments and the joint capsule. In the joint fluid itself, the number of leukocytes increases.
Small joints in the body become covered with characteristic rheumatoid nodules, as the joint changes shape and becomes ugly in appearance. The content of these rheumatoid nodules is the necrotic part of macrophages, fibroblasts and plasma cells. Similar nodules can be found in internal organs.
The disease progresses gradually. Patients suffer from general and local joint manifestations - there is a characteristic stiffness of the joints in the morning, fatigue is observed, loss of appetite, body temperature becomes subfebrile. The condition of the joints improves a lot about an hour after waking up. The joints are affected symmetrically, and rheumatoid arthritis typically affects the following joints:
- Wrist.
- Second and third metacarpophalangeal.
- Shoulder.
- Knees.
- Ankles.
- Hip.
- Elbows.
In fact, the disease threatens every joint in the musculoskeletal system. The distal phalangeal joints, as well as the elements of the axial skeleton, are least often affected.
The joints remain painful, they swell and redden and become hot to the touch. To minimize painful sensations, patients try to keep their joints bent - this way they hurt less. Progression of the disease occurs within the first 5-6 years after the onset of the first pathological changes. And already ten years after the development of pathology, irreversible changes appear in patients.
During this time, patients develop significant joint deformities and instability may occur. When the nerve branches are squeezed, patients suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome and rheumatoid arthritis of the knee joint, the patients are threatened with Baker's cyst, deep vein thrombosis, etc.
Along with joint changes, extra-articular manifestations of the body are observed, which develop with the progression of the pathology in one in three patients. An example of such manifestations can be rheumatoid nodules in the lungs, vasculitis, Felty's syndrome, myocarditis.
Diagnosing the disease is not that difficult. The typical clinical criteria of rheumatoid arthritis are demonstrated in the blood, the rate of erythrocyte sedimentation is increased, C-reactive protein and rheumatoid factor are found in significant amounts.
The patient's condition is specified on an x-ray image, which is done if rheumatoid arthritis is suspected. The disease is differentiated from osteoarthritis, sarcoidosis, psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis, arthritis developed against the background of hepatitis C.
IMPORTANT!When diagnosing it is necessary to take into account the fact that the disease has a fairly high lethal outcome, but in rheumatoid arthritis it is not associated with joint damage, but with pathological changes in theheart, internal bleeding.
Treatment of the disease is carried out with supportive therapy, as well as strong NSAIDs. It is recommended to give only an adequate load on the joints, add exercise therapy. If necessary, surgery is performed.
Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis is another common condition that can affect large and small joints. Various factors can provoke osteoarthritis, which, first of all, has a negative effect on the cartilage tissue of the joint. Cartilage throughout the human body performs several functions and mainly becomes a shock absorber during various movements. Constant stress leads to increased wear and tear of the cartilage.
If healthy people with strong immunity have a chance to restore damaged tissue, then in elderly patients, as well as in patients with increased stress on the joint, the synthesis of new fibers does not occur. almost not produced, and cartilage tissue is not restored. Traditionally, osteoarthritis is seen as a consequence of mechanical effects on tissues, but doctors now consider previously transferred inflammatory diseases to be factors in the development of systemic osteoarthritis.
A typical symptom of the disease is pain in all the joints, as the matrix loses extremely important substances - glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate. The deficiency of these elements leads to the so-called dislocation of the joint, that is, cracks of different depths appear in the cartilage tissue.
Inflammatory processes can also disrupt the normal structure of cartilage tissue. Therefore, when localized in the subchondral part of the bone, doctors often diagnose microfractures in patients. The edges of the joint bone are covered with growths - osteophytes. They serve to compensate for the worn out part of the cartilage, but in fact they bring even more negative sensations to patients.
Postmenopausal women are the most likely to develop osteoarthritis.
As the real cause of osteoarthritis has not been elucidated, doctors have identified several factors that contribute to the development of the disease:
- Congenital insufficiency of cartilage tissue, in which it is very easy to injure yourself. For example, patients with such a pathology develop flat feet, dislocations are often diagnosed - complete and incomplete.
- Gender is also one of the factors in the development of the disease, since, according to statistics, osteoarthritis is twice as common in women as in men.
- Age characteristic - the disease usually develops in patients over forty-five years old, in women it coincides with the period of menopause.
- Obesity.
- Metabolic problems.
- Increased athletic load on the joints.
- Traumatic joint injuries.
The disease develops in any joint, but the starting joint is usually the one with the most physical activity. It can be localized in the joints of the knee, hip, elbow, etc.
The symptomatology of the disease is very obvious, so osteoarthritis cannot be missed. In a person, with an increased load, the joints immediately begin to ache, while the strength of the discomfort may be different: from a slight moan in the joint to the sharpest pain the strongest in the joint. When moving, the pain increases, and at rest it becomes less pronounced.
Along with the pains, the patients suffer from cracks in the joints, the appearance of stiffness. Patients have limited movement. Especially at times of disease progression, when reflex muscle spasms are added to the pathology.
At a later stage in the development of the disease, patients develop a characteristic joint blockage - this is a sharp pain when the joint suddenly stops moving due to the onset of severe pain inthe joint. This is due to the penetration of fragments of cartilage tissue into the cavity, blocking movement. If the disease is accompanied by inflammation, there is swelling of the synovium, which is easy to visualize.
The development of osteoarthritis is quite individual. In some patients, the x-ray shows signs of progression of the pathology, but depending on the sensations, the picture of the disease does not change. At the same time, other patients experience severe pain, inflammation and limited movement, when the joint itself in the photo looks satisfactory, depending on the stage of development of the pathology.
Diagnosis of the disease is based on radiographic data and clinical signs of the disease. In parallel, you can do an ultrasound or magnetic resonance imaging if it is necessary 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. Therefore, in therapy, it is extremely important to stop the progression of the disease, to eliminate pain in the joint, and to relieve inflammation.
At the moment, the possibilities for treating osteoarthritis are not limitless and the treatment tactics are difficult to recognize as successful because it is not possible to restore the joints. The disease enters a chronic phase and you have to fight it constantly.
TIP!Nevertheless, such unfortunate predictions do not condemn 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 funds:
- Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
- Glucocorticosteroids.
- Chondroprotectors.
- Means to activate blood circulation.
- Muscle relaxants.
Treatment of the disease mainly consists of drugs that can restore cartilage tissue as much as possible and establish metabolic processes in the joint. Therefore, the main emphasis is on chondroprotectors, the use of which begins immediately after the elimination of inflammation. Treatment with chondroprotectors is long-term, and the best result appears only with timely treatment started.
Other diseases
Rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis are the most common conditions in which the joints hurt throughout the body. But, in addition to the leaders of morbidity, there are other conditions that cause pain in the joint joints.
Joint pain can be a manifestation of leukemia.
Painful joints can be a manifestation of blood disorders. Hematological pathologies are today the most difficult not only in diagnosis for treating physicians, but also in therapy. Often they are associated with an oncological factor, and diseases acquire a completely different meaning for the patient. Usually the joints of the body are painful with leukemia - acute and chronic. At the same time, patients do not even suspect what it means, because the results of blood tests do not show any abnormalities.
Arthralgia is not isolated, not only joint parts are affected, but also bones and muscles. Therefore, doctors advise patients with long-term painful sensations, it is imperative to consult not only a traumatologist or orthopedic surgeon, but also a hematologist, who can suspect pathology and send the patient for further research.
Poisoning of the body is another reason for joint pain. The fact is that the joints react extremely sharply to the intake of toxins in the body, and if the joints begin to hurt and twist, then the influence of occupational hazards, intoxication with household waste, smokingand alcoholism can be the cause. Patients suffer from extremely unpleasant symptoms - all the joints ache, as if with the flu the general condition of the body suffers.
Improving patient health is possible after diagnosis. Detoxification therapy is performed, the blood is purified, and as a result, the joint fluid from toxins.
Most important
Pain in all the joints of the body is not always associated with the pathology of the joints themselves. If the joints of the body are affected, rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis is usually the cause. Symptoms increase rapidly, and the pathological process in the joints progresses.
In other cases, when joint pain is not associated with joint damage, discomfort can be a manifestation of systemic diseases, for example, blood leukemia, as well as osteoporosis, intoxication of thebody, infection. Dealing with illnesses is not that easy, but it is much more difficult to diagnose illness. Patients with joint pain should contact the clinic in a timely manner in order to start treatment at an early stage.