Causes of joint pain

Joints are the connections between the bones that provide support and movement to your body. Any damage in such joints due to any disease or injury can affect your activity resulting in a lot of pain.

Many conditions lead to painful joints such as rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, gout, bursitis, sprains, strains, and other injuries. Joint pain is widespread in people. Almost one-third of adults have reports showing joint pains. Out of all, knee pain is the most common complaint, followed by shoulder and hip pain. Also, joint pain can affect any part of your body, right from ankles to shoulders. As one gets older, joint pain becomes increasingly common.

Joint pain can be mildly irritating to debilitating. The acute ones can go away after a few weeks, but the chronic ones last for several weeks or months. Even short-term pain or swelling can affect the quality of life.

It focuses on minimal surgical interventions available at pain clinics for joint pain and a few other common musculoskeletal conditions. The interventions described below are often used as part of multi-disciplinary management combined with physiotherapy, medications, therapy, and psychology input if required.

• Hip pain

Hip pain is a common condition seen in many people and can be pretty disabling as it impacts your walking. The pain can be in any part, either front, side, or back of the hip joint. The anterior hip pain is due to joint problems such as arthritis, where the hip’s outer side is more excellent. Trochanteric pain syndrome or posterior hip pain may arise due to multiple reasons such as the lumbar spine, sacroiliac joint, piriformis muscle, etc. It is essential to overcome the lumbar spine pathology that exists and be responsible for producing or increasing hip pain.

• Ultrasound-guided hip joint injection

The hip joint is one of the most common joints affected by osteoarthritis. Patients often complain of unbearable groin pain. The conservative treatment of hip osteoarthritis includes weight management, activity modification, painkillers, and physical therapy. The injections are used for therapeutic and diagnostic purposes. The diagnostic injection can help differentiate hip pain due to the pain originating from other sources. Such injection can be performed under the ultrasound or x-ray guidance as an outpatient or a day case procedure. Here a mixture of steroids and anaesthetics is injected.

• Injection for gluteal muscle tendinosis, trochanteric bursitis

Trochanteric bursitis terms as a pain on the outer part of the hip. It is renamed Greater Trochanteric Pain Syndrome (GTPS) as it shows several conditions such as muscle tears, bursitis, tendon problems, and trigger points having a similar presentation. The greater trochanter is present at the outer side, where the buttock muscles get attached and many bursae to prevent friction.

• Injection for bursitis, Iliopsoas

The Iliopsoas is designed as two separate muscles: the psoas and the iliacus. Both of these spans from the spine and pelvis to the upper part of the thigh bone. They play a significant role in maintaining posture and lifting the leg. Bursitis or Iliopsoas is found in hip or groin pain that can move towards the thigh. It can lead to worse pains with activities involving flexion of the hip like climbing stairs, walking, or wearing shoes.

• Femoral and obturator nerve block and radiofrequency

The branches of the obturator and femoral supply to the hip joint. This procedure mainly aims at interrupting the transmission of pain signals coming from the hip joint. It is for the patients that are not keen or unfit for hip replacement. It can also be offered to the patients facing persisting pain after the surgery of hip replacement. This process is performed as a day case under local anaesthesia and does not include any surgeries. Initially, the diagnostic blocks are performed using a small amount of anaesthesia under ultrasound or x-ray guidance, followed by radiofrequency treatment if required.

• Lateral cutaneous nerve of thigh block and radiofrequency treatment

The thigh’s lateral cutaneous nerve is known to supply sensation to the thigh’s side and front. Compression, injury, or entrapment of this nerve leads to an altered sensation, numbness, and pain in the area innervated by the nerve. Recent tight belts, weight gain or loss, and clothes are the predisposing factors. The common site of compression is the nerve entering the thigh traveling in close relation to the thigh ligaments. The nerve can be found using ultrasound and guided injection to reduce the pain by arthritis specialists in Delhi. Pulsed radiofrequency is a treatment used to have prolonged effects.

• Other common musculoskeletal conditions

These are common problems resulting in staining or overuse of forearm tendons attached to the bony prominences on the upper arm bone near the elbow joint. The tennis elbow has tendons attached to the elbow’s outer side, and repetitive activities such as gripping or twisting the forearm increase the pain. This may affect one or more tendons, and it not uncommon for the pain to move down further to the forearm.

• Achilles tendinopathy

The Achilles tendon attaches your calf muscles to the heel bone and is the most prominent tendon in the body. It is located above and behind the heel. Underuse or overuse of tendons can result in tendinopathy, and hence it may be seen more in very active people or people having sedentary lifestyles. Other factors may be incorrect footwear, being overweight, poor flexibility, or a sudden increase in physical activities.

• Injections for ischial bursitis and proximal hamstring tendinopathy

Hamstrings are the group of muscles present at the back of your thigh. They extend from pelvis to knee and play a significant role in routine activities such as running or bending. Muscles attach to the bones with tendons that are particular tissues. With misuse, overuse, or injury, the tendons get inflamed and torn, leading to the development of a situation called tendinopathy. Involvement of part of hamstring present as buttock pain moves down to the back of the knee. The pain may get worsened on sitting on a firm seat.

• Platelet-rich plasma (PRP)

Platelets are the major blood components. They help in clotting and contain the growth factors promoting the healing process. PRP is a blood plasma having concentrated platelets. Arthritis specialists use this therapy in Delhi to utilize the body’s natural ability to heal itself. It is used for ligament or tendon injuries that don’t respond to conservative measures such as golfer’s elbow, tennis elbow, plantar fasciitis, Achilles’ tendinosis.

How are we the best rheumatologist in Delhi?

We are the leading pain medicine arthritis specialist in Delhi. We help patients having all kinds of chronic pain conditions such as neck pain, back pain, joint pain, and nerve pain. For us, every pain is a mystery that doesn’t let our expert’s rest. Our experts with their teams offer evidence-based, non-surgical treatments using the multi-disciplinary approach to provide patients relief and maximize their gain. We have successfully managed thousands of patients in the India.