The human body is exposed to constant stress every day. These are due to the environment on the one hand and mobility on the other. However, if the loads are above average and the individual's anatomy is insufficient to compensate for the stress, this can lead to Stress pain or. Movement pain to lead.
What are stress pain?
Stress pain can be triggered by a variety of factors. The most common cause is that the joints rub too hard against each other during overexertion.Pain during movement must be conceptually differentiated from pain under exertion. While increasing exertion that is above the average level can lead to stress pain, movement pain can occur even with minor deviations.
A uniform definition of this form of pain is difficult because the causes can be varied. In this respect, the individual triggers are separated from one another at this point. The main thing in common, however, is that the stress pain primarily occurs when the person concerned has overexerted himself by increasing his workload.
Accordingly, the effort was so great that it deviated from normal conditions. In contrast to this, pain when moving can occur as long as the body has been subjected to average stress.
causes
Stress pain can be triggered by a variety of factors. The most common cause is that the joints rub too hard against each other during overexertion. This can also happen if the person concerned has to bear a heavy burden, so that the pain is not caused by the actual motor skills, but by the additional stress.
This can be the case, for example, when furniture has to be carried over several floors when moving. In any case, the disease is at least favored by lifting.The pain can be felt after a while, although the intensity can be significantly stronger if the cartilage has already been attacked. In addition, inflammation in the joints can trigger stress pain.
In addition, however, the disease does not occur only due to overexertion. Rather, other diseases can also be the cause of stress pain. These include above all metabolic diseases, neurological diseases or tumors on the bones. A common cause of the pain is also rheumatism, as the joints are preloaded to a greater extent in this clinical picture.
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➔ Medicines for joint painDiseases with this symptom
- Nerve disorders
- Carpal tunnel syndrome
- Chondropathy
- Eye migraines
- Ear infection
- Sensitivity to noise
- arthrosis
- arthritis
- rheumatism
- gout
- Myocarditis
- Obesity
- Tendinitis
- Bone cancer
- Metabolic disorder
- Arterial Disease
- Leg ulcer
- ISG syndrome
Diagnosis & course
Stress pain occurs locally in different parts of the body. Likewise, patients perceive the intensity of the pain in different ways. It is all the more important for the diagnostic procedure that the person affected describes the pain process in detail to the doctor.
Sometimes it is just a so-called start-up pain that can occur when the joints come to rest after a strenuous phase. At first, the suffering is particularly severe, with the symptoms decreasing as the joints and muscles are moved. If the symptoms persist, the doctor will first conduct a local examination. This is limited to the region described by the patient.
In order to diagnose underlying diseases for stress pain, in particular, the doctor will regularly use imaging or ultrasound methods to examine the joints and bones. In this way, the attending physician can determine whether the pain is a temporary symptom or whether it is caused by a chronic illness, which may be due to comorbidities.
Complications
Stress pain can be completely eliminated with well-tolerated pain relievers. However, many doctors do not do this to prevent the common complication of making the patient feel healthy in the absence of pain and resuming normal stress on the joint. Instead, they set the pain medication in such a way that although he is almost pain-free in everyday life, he feels more pain when exercising and can thus assess how far he can go with the burden.
If an injury that has not yet completely healed is stressed again too quickly, the injury threatens to worsen and it can return to its old state. If pain medication is no longer necessary because the underlying injury has almost healed, pain may still be felt when the strain is increased. It would be correct to stop the exercise immediately, as this is a warning signal from the body.
However, it is precisely this type of pain that is often not taken seriously and the stress is not stopped, even if stress pain occurs. This can also worsen the original injury. If you do not go to the doctor immediately if you feel stress pain, you risk a very similar worsening of the condition. The injury may have to be splinted, immobilized or even operated on - if this is not done, it can trigger chronic stress pain.
When should you go to the doctor?
If a body is constantly exposed to stresses that its anatomy cannot cope with, stress pain will inevitably occur. Stress pain in joints is very common. Then mostly either the load was generally too high or the person overexerted their joints. A classic trigger for stressful pain is moving house. It is not uncommon for those affected to overestimate their strength beforehand. In addition to overload situations, metabolic diseases, bone tumors, rheumatism and neurological diseases can also cause stress pain.
What makes it more difficult with stress pain is that patients perceive and reproduce the pain intensity extremely subjectively. In the case of stress pain, it is advisable to see your family doctor first. He can assess his patient well. To further clarify the complaints, he can call in specialists, such as an orthopedic surgeon or neurologist and possibly a surgeon.
Physiotherapeutic applications and pain therapy also have a positive effect on the course of treatment. Special heat and cold treatments with a blood circulation-promoting effect have also proven effective for stress pain. Exercise pain can also be based on worn articular cartilage.
In such a case, a specialist in cartilage transplants is required. Acupuncture has also proven helpful. As part of his therapy, the patient should also receive tips on how to avoid stress pain in the future.
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Treatment & Therapy
Stress pain is either a warning sign that the patient has overworked his body, or an indication of a manifest disease in the organism. If the pain is temporary, it is usually treated with drug therapy. These are particularly intended to relieve pain and remove inflammation from the body.
The therapy should enable the person affected to move their joints and muscles naturally so that they can loosen up. If, on the other hand, the doctor diagnoses chronic stress pain, multimodal treatment is regularly initiated. This is a special pain therapy that is carried out either through tablets or infusions. Thanks to medical progress, the chances of success are also good in individual chronic cases.
In addition, it makes sense in both cases to combine pain therapy with physiotherapy. The physiotherapist uses special techniques to move the joints and muscles. This trains the musculoskeletal system. In severe cases, such as when the stress pain is due to wear and tear on the joint cartilage, a specialist will perform a cartilage transplant to replace the cartilage cells.
Which therapy is ultimately initiated also depends on where the pain is localized. If the suffering has been triggered by another illness, for example a broken bone or twisting of the joint apparatus, special acupuncture therapies or artificial joints have proven their worth. In addition to acupuncture, special massages can also help reduce pain. This also applies to treatment with heat and cold, as this promotes blood circulation in the body.
Outlook & forecast
In many cases, the stress pain will go away on its own if it is only temporary pain. They arise from short-term high stress and also disappear again when this stress no longer occurs. However, the stress pain can also arise as a result of long and hard work.
Usually the joints and muscles can be treated with physical therapy. In any case, the patient must no longer stress the affected parts of the body heavily and must take care of them. In most cases, this results in a positive course of the disease that does not lead to any further complications. Surgical interventions are only rarely necessary to treat stress pain.
Without treatment, the stress pain will usually not go away. This can severely damage muscles and joints, leading to inflammation and other complications.
The stress pain can also cause psychological problems. Often the patient feels tired, sick and overworked. Physiotherapy is successful in many cases and helps the person concerned to combat the stress pain. However, if there is severe stress pain, no more heavy activity may be carried out, so that the workplace may no longer be able to be visited.
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➔ Medicines for joint painprevention
Home remedies ↵ for joint
pain
The best prophylaxis against stress pain is not to put too much strain on the body or to adopt poor posture. In this respect, the disease can be ideally prevented with regular exercise and sport. This promotes blood circulation, which ultimately strengthens the body.
This means that signs of wear and tear can be reduced from the outset. Furthermore, the muscles are gently built up through sporting activities, so that stress pain can occur less frequently.
You can do that yourself
Usually, there is no need to see a doctor in the event of stress pain. This pain mainly occurs when the body is exposed to constant stress and has no opportunity to rest. Joints, muscles and bones can then be in pain. If the body can rest, the stress pain usually disappears after just a few days and does not recur. However, if the body cannot rest, the stress pain can also lead to inflammation and other problems that ultimately have to be treated by a doctor.
In order to avoid the stress pain, no heavy work should be done often or alone. The pain itself can be eliminated with the help of ointments and bandages. Painkillers should be avoided as they damage the stomach relatively badly. If the stress pain is no longer bearable, a doctor must definitely be consulted. If the stress pains occur as a result of work, the doctor can also declare the employee unable to work in order to remedy the stress pains.
There is usually no surgical intervention. Physiotherapy or pain therapy often helps. Complications only arise if the stress pain is not treated in a timely manner. This can lead to consequential damage and further injuries.