Sick feet is a problem for most modern people. After all, some walk and stand a lot, while others, on the contrary, sit most of the time. In addition, there are many other factors that can cause pain in the legs.
Introduction
Such pain is familiar to many. This may be pain in the hip or knee joint, or the joints of the toes may hurt. The pain is aching and sharp. And in each case, we can talk about different ailments.
If you choose the wrong shoes, they can cause pain in your feet.
But the main causes are overexertion and injury.
Pain caused by recent manual labor
Meet after intense physical exertion in people of any type without exception. The help of doctors in this case is not needed. The pain in the joints of the legs is not strong, it is aching in nature, it can increase with movement, and at rest it disappears. There may sometimes be slight hyperemia of the skin in the area of any joint.
Such pains pass on their own after a short rest. But if they are strong, then you can resort to creams and ointments with the effect of anesthesia (drugs "Indomethacin", "Ibuprofen", "Diclofenac"). The medicine is applied in the joint area to the skin with massaging movements two to three times a day.
Injury
Pain in the joints of the legs, the causes of which are injuries, usually occur after this very injury (immediately or some short time later). In this case, the cartilage, capsule or ligaments are damaged. The pain will be permanent. It is felt at rest, but increases with movement. Accompanied by hyperemia of the skin in the joint area, limited movement and swelling.
If the pain symptom is not expressed, there is no edema, the contours of the joint are not changed, then it is enough to give it rest, limit the movement of the limb. For these purposes, as if an elastic bandage was specially created. It must be wrapped around the affected area, capturing the area below and above the joint - this will help the bandage to hold on better.
The first twenty-four hours after the injury, to avoid severe swelling, you can apply a cold compress, but not more than half an hour. To avoid frostbite, a cold compress should be applied through clothing. The next day, warm, but not hot compresses are applied to the joint. They will increase blood circulation and speed up the recovery of damaged areas.
In the first 24 hours after injury, the joint should be given an elevated position (a pillow under the injured kneejoint).
For severe pain, creams and ointments with analgesic effect are used. If the measures taken have not reduced the pain in the joints of the legs, then the causes may be more serious, in which case it is worth making an immediate visit to a trauma specialist to prescribe the appropriate treatment after the examination.
Joint pain in adolescents, children
This age group has many ailments, the symptoms of which are pain in the joints of the legs. Causes and treatment only a doctor is able to establish and prescribe. But any parent, paying attention to some points, will be able to establish the alleged cause.
During the period when there is a rapid growth of the child, he may experience some discomfort, pain in the joints of the left leg and right leg, in muscles and bones. These "growing pains" should not be taken as something terrible. They will not have consequences, and they do not require treatment. Most often, girls of eight to fourteen years old suffer from such troubles. If the child's activity is not reduced, he has a good appetite and mood, then, most likely, there are growing pains.
How can you help your child then?
He needs to be told what kind of pain in the joints of his legs. Causes are related to growth, and in most cases they will go away on their own. Relief can come from a warm heating pad or a gentle massage.
But if joint pain is accompanied by additional symptoms, then the child should be shown to the doctor. After all, he may have a serious illness.
Pain in the joints of the left leg, right leg,other joints, coupled with a skin rash, general hyperthermia, local swelling and redness can be with such ailments as:
- Acute rheumatic fever. It is characterized by the fact that there is inflammation of the connective tissue in the joints, internal organs, which is fraught with quite serious complications (damage to the heart valves). One of the symptoms of acute rheumatic fever is rheumatic fever.
- Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. The disease is chronic, in which a progressive inflammatory reaction of various joints, including the legs, develops. Appears in children under the age of sixteen.
- Infectious arthritis. As a rule, it acts as a complication of a number of infectious diseases. Sick or one or several joints in a row. There will be severe pain in the joints of the legs or other affected joints, along with fever. There may be vomiting, nausea. The affected joint is painful to touch.
- Reactive arthritis. Inflammation occurs as a response to an infectious onset. It often manifests itself against a background of tonsillitis, influenza and other diseases. Often associated with conjunctivitis and urethritis.
- Prolonged severe pain in the joints of the legs in children may indicate the presence of bone tumors.
Joint pain in adults
The cause of painful joints in adults can also be a great variety of diseases. That is why it is important to immediately pay attention to the manifested pain in the joints of the legs, the causes and treatment of which canidentify and prescribe a doctor.
To build a guess before a visit to the doctor, it is worth studying all the accompanying symptoms. So, aching pain in the joints of the legs or acute in combination with fatigue, weakness and hyperthermia of the body can indicate a number of diseases.
One of them is rheumatoid arthritis. A chronic disease accompanied by inflammation of the connective tissue. In this case, the pain comes on suddenly and will increase over the course of one to two weeks. The pain effect will be felt both in the joint itself and in the muscles surrounding it. In the morning hours and at rest, the discomfort increases. Both several and one joint can be affected. The inflamed joint becomes larger, the skin reacts to touch. There is hyperthermia and redness. Limited mobility. Characterized by morning stiffness, when the joint does not work well for about an hour while a person wakes up.
Joint pain in office workers
Insufficient physical activity during the working day is a hallmark of office work. Immobility, a long stay in an uncomfortable position provoke an excessive load on the joints and cause pain, discomfort and gradual destruction of cartilage. Therefore, office workers are advised to do gymnastics regularly, and they also need to take products that protect and restore cartilage tissue, chondroprotectors.
Joint pain in overweight and elderly people
This type of pain is usually associated with chronic ailments, due to whichslow destruction of cartilage. They are called degenerate.
Aching pain in the joints of the legs will be long-term and gradually progress. Osteoarthritis (osteoarthritis) is one such disease. The pain is initially slight, and later - more pronounced. The disease affects those joints, the load on which is maximum. Therefore, pain in the hip joints of the legs, knees, ankles most often indicates this disease. It can intensify in the evening, occur in a dream.
Joint pains and individual joints
The hip joint begins to react painfully when it is itself affected. It is worth looking into the accompanying symptoms. Fever, rash, inflammation of other joints - rheumatoid arthritis. Indefinite pain radiates to the lower back, buttock, groin, knee, back of the thigh - similar to avascular necrosis of the femoral head. Pain appeared a long time ago, progressed slowly, aggravated by walking and standing for a long time, gait is disturbed - osteoarthritis. Pain in the joint itself proceeds along with severe pain in the lumbar region, while it radiates to the knee, to the back of the thigh - typical for sciatica.
A dysfunctional knee joint can seriously alter work plans and daily activities.
Knee pain in an elderly or obese person that worsens with walking, as well as standing for a long time, moving up and down stairs, suggests osteoarthritis as a likely cause.
Along with pain, there is redness, swelling of the skin at the site of the affected joint, skin rash, and body temperature is elevated - there can be a whole galaxy of arthritis (reactive, infectious, rheumatoid).
The pain came suddenly, the mobility of the joint was impaired, it was not possible to lean on the leg - it could be gout.
Toes and joint pain
Pain in the joints of the toes is found in many diseases.
Gout is a disease characterized by a recurring inflammatory reaction of the joints. The joint at the base of the thumb is affected first, but others (ankle, knee) may be involved later. The pain comes suddenly, often at night or in the morning. It is pronounced and therefore the movement of the entire joint, and more often the entire limb, is disturbed. The affected joint swells, skin hyperemia is observed, the skin reacts to touch with soreness. After some time, the inflammation disappears on its own, so that after a couple of months or years it reappears, in the same joint or in several.
Valgus deformity of the first finger. The disease is characterized by a deviation of the base of the first finger outward. At the same time, the foot is deformed, a kind of lump appears, which increases with time. Severe pain in the affected area.
Pain in the joints of the toes can also be associated with rheumatoid arthritis, which was described above.
Treatment
If a person has pain in the joints of the legs, the causes and treatment will be prescribed and determined by the doctor. That is why you should visit it as soon as possible. He will not only hear the symptoms that the patient will describe to him, but will also prescribe additional studies to reveal what has gone unnoticed. This will make it easier for the doctor to make a correct diagnosis and prescribe the appropriate treatment.
Basic Therapeutic Principles
Providing rest will help reduce pain in the diseased joint and speed up recovery. In some cases, an elastic bandage should be applied for this. The patient is shown complete rest so that the affected joint is not loaded with work.
Pain in the joints of the feet and other joints can be eliminated with painkillers, which can be in the form of ointments, injections, tablets. Ointments with analgesic effect and relieving inflammation - "Efkamon", "Viprosal B", "Indomethacin", "Ibuprofen", "Voltaren". Each such remedy has its own heap of contraindications, and they should be studied before using the remedy. The ointment is applied to the affected area with a thin layer and rubbed with massaging movements. The procedure is repeated two to three times a day.
Best treatment pills
Pain in the joints of the legs, the causes and treatment of which were established and prescribed by the doctor, it is better to treat with the following drugs:
- "Artra". The country of origin is the USA. Contains glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate. Take two pieces per day. The course is three to six months.
- Structum. Country of origin - France. Contains chondroitin sulfate. Take two to four pieces a day. The course is three to six months.
- "Don". Countrymanufacturer - Italy. Contains glucosamine. Used four to six pieces a day. The course of treatment is three to six months.
- Teraflex. Country of origin - UK. Contains chondroitin sulfate. Take two or four pieces per day. Treatment with a similar course.
- "Chondroitin AKOS". Country of origin - Russia. Contains chondroitin sulfate. Used two to four pieces a day. Course as above.
