Last Updated: December 10, 2025
Painful Joints
Our joints sometimes make life difficult for us. Hence the interest in knowing the inner workings to preserve and relieve them.
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Table of Contents
Is Pain In The Joints Like Rheumatism?
Yes, but the term is extended. The pain can be joint or periarticular, that is to say, due to surrounding tissues: ligaments, tendons, muscles, or even related to bone surfaces. Pain can be divided into two categories, mechanical or inflammatory. Still, the causes are often multiple: the destruction of cartilage (osteoarthritis), viral or bacterial infection (infectious arthritis), a deposit of crystals (chondrocalcinosis, gout) …
Is It Possible To Prevent Joint Damage?
In part, because there may be a genetic predisposition to osteoarthritis, polyarthritis, spondylitis, and chondrocalcinosis. To limit the progression, it is essential to consult at the first symptoms. And never forget that it is possible to act on environmental factors, especially by suppressing tobacco, one of the factors potentially triggering polyarthritis and spondylitis. We must also fight against overweight, which multiplies by three or four the risk of osteoarthritis of the knees or fingers, or even, over the age of 50, by supplementing, on medical advice, with vitamin D.
Can Drugs Control Pain On Their Own?
Analgesics, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, opiates, or cortisone injections are not enough, and some have side effects. A non-drug approach is, therefore, also essential. For example, losing 5% of your weight can relieve knee osteoarthritis (osteoarthritis of the knee). Overall, you have to avoid carrying heavy loads, agree to walk with a cane, put on foot orthotics, force yourself to move … And don’t isolate yourself! The lack of social connection intensifies the pain.
Is Physical Activity Always Beneficial?
Yes, because the joints don’t like rest. Under two conditions: practice reasonably, because high-level sport can be a source of joint trauma. Therefore, osteoarthritis, especially in contact sports, opts for soft ground and good shoes to limit microtrauma from jogging and stay at rest during inflammatory flare-ups. Even in severe osteoarthritis, you have to walk, but fragmenting your outings morning and evening.
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