Muscle and joint pain in the whole body: causes and treatment

When discomfort occurs in one area, this is certainly the source of the problem for the patient, but pain throughout the body brings even more suffering. In this case, even daily activities fade as they become difficult to perform.

Many people are used to the feeling of weakness, fatigue, and aches that get in the way of an active life. Similarly, common pain in muscles, bones or joints cannot be ignored. She must force the patient to make quick decisions to find out the rationale and substance of the next measures. But for this, you need to see a doctor first.

Reason

If the muscles and joints of the whole body are in pain, then first of all it is necessary to find out if it has something to do with each other.

Such a wide range of sensations is supposed to push the patient and the physician to the idea of a systemic lesion. One should find the reason not in the individual tissues of the musculoskeletal system, but in the functioning of the organism as a whole and its systems. At the same time, it is quite difficult to understand what really hurts: muscle, bone or joint. Such sensations spread throughout the body and do not have an exact localization. But, despite this, there are states where a similar situation is quite typical. These include the following:

  • Physical stress.
  • Infectious Diseases.
  • Connective tissue disease.
  • Blood diseases.
  • Tumor processes.
  • Neurological disorders plant.

As you can see, the pathology is quite diverse and serious. If you don't take into account purely physiological reasons for muscle weakness and pain, then you need to be very careful about the possibility of these diseases. Doctor's advice is never superfluous.

The origin of pain in the joints and muscles of the whole body can be hypothesized after a physical examination by a physician.

Symptom

shoulder pain

Any pathology has characteristic features. All manifestations should be considered, even if they are insignificant. To identify a disease that affects the condition of the muscles and joints, it is necessary to analyze the patient's complaints and objective symptoms.

Since pain is the most common symptom, its possible features should be considered:

  1. Pain, burning, cutting or stabbing.
  2. It is localized in the muscle, bone or joint area.
  3. Feel in similar areas of the body or are volatile.
  4. Permanently or periodically.
  5. Moderate, strong or weak.

It may be accompanied by a feeling of weakness, fatigue, or pain. If the cause of the pain lies in general pathologies of the body, then other symptoms will inevitably appear, which will indicate the source of the problem.

Physical stress

neck and joint pain

To begin with, you should rule out a situation that most people are likely to encounter. Excessive physical activity can lead to muscle tension, affecting sensation in different parts of the body. Pain and weakness are associated with the accumulation of lactic acid in the tissues and microscopic damage to the fibers. As a result, a sore throat develops and will go away with time. It should be remembered that only the muscles are involved in this process and there should be no other symptoms.

If overexertion is ruled out, then you must look for more serious causes of pain.

Infectious Diseases

Cold is the cause of joint pain

Bone and muscle pain is a familiar phenomenon for anyone who has ever had a respiratory infection. Even a trivial ARI is accompanied by such symptoms. What can we say about a more serious illness, such as flu, meningitis, dengue fever, leptospirosis, Lyme disease. Flight pain is characteristic of brucellosis and epidemic myalgia. In many cases, such sensations are the result of microbial toxicity. Infectious diseases accompanied by other symptoms:

  • Fever.
  • Cough, sneeze.
  • Skin rash.
  • Nausea, diarrhea.
  • Headache.
  • General weakness.

Joint pains can even lead to liver damage - viral hepatitis. In this case, severity in the right hypogastrium, jaundice, and decreased appetite are characteristic. we must not forget about the possibility of parasitic invasions, for example, trichiasis, where myalgias are of great diagnostic value.

The spectrum of infectious pathology is very wide, so it is necessary to promptly identify the cause of pain in the body.

Connective tissue disease

lupus erythematosus causes joint pain

If muscles and joints are painful, they must be examined to identify systemic diseases: lupus erythematosus, polymyositis, scleroderma, rheumatoid arthritis. They are autoimmune in nature and occur with damage to connective tissue, which is found in all body systems. In this case, you should pay attention to the following features:

  1. Symmetrical lesions of the hand joints with characteristic deformities - in rheumatoid arthritis.
  2. Butterfly-shaped skin rash - with lupus erythematosus.
  3. Weakness of the muscles of the extremities and neck - with polymyositis.
  4. Thickened skin on the fingers, face like a mask - scleroderma.

One more disease with systemic manifestations also needs to be mentioned - rheumatism. Although a microbial agent (streptococcal) becomes a trigger, an autoimmune process develops in the future. For this disease, throbbing pain in the joints will be characteristic.

Connective tissue diseases are accompanied by damage to internal organs: the heart, lungs, kidneys, as well as blood vessels and the nervous system.

Blood diseases

blood test for joint pain

Diseases of the hematopoietic system are common causes of bone pain. Unfortunately, most of them are malignant, so it is helpful for everyone to know the characteristic signs of such a pathology. In addition to body aches, the following symptoms develop with leukemia:

  • Increased temperature.
  • Swollen lymph nodes.
  • Bleeding localization varies.
  • Pale skin.
  • Enlarged spleen and liver.
  • Infection trends.

In addition, dyspnea, general weakness, loss of appetite, skin nodules may be disordered. The acute form of leukemia occurs with obvious manifestations and can be life-threatening if not adequately treated.

Tumor process

swelling as a cause of joint pain

Pain in the bone, joint or muscle region of the whole body can appear in the structure of the paraneoplastic syndrome, which is characteristic of various malignancies. It develops as a result of metabolic, immunological and other disorders associated with the primary process. Often observed diseases of the joints or bones, similar to various rheumatic diseases. Similar signs appear long before the tumor process is detected.

In addition, bone pain possibly due to "cancer toxicity" was observed in patients with advanced and metastatic tumors. In addition to the symptoms indicated, general disorders will predominate in the clinical picture of the disease:

  1. Big weakness.
  2. Emaciated, to the point of exhaustion (weakness).
  3. Loss of appetite, nausea.
  4. Pale skin with grayish, yellowish or bluish tint.
  5. Fever.
  6. Depression, irritability.

Such signs aggravate the patient's condition and adversely affect the prognosis of the disease.

Attention needs to be increased to detect tumors in the early stages, which can only be done with regular preventive examinations.

Nervous disorders

pain in the joints

If the patient feels pain in the muscles, joints or bones, the problem may be in the nervous system. Very often, similar symptoms are observed with polyneuropathy. The disease can have different aetiologies, but the lower extremities are most susceptible. In such cases, the following symptoms are noted:

  • Numbness, tingling, burning, crawling "goosebumps".
  • Reduce sensitivity.
  • Change the severity of the reflex.
  • Muscle weakness, decreased tone.
  • Thin skin, hair loss, dry rough.

Polyneuropathy can cause severe pain that significantly affects the patient's quality of life.

Diagnose

Doctor prescribes treatment for joint pain

After physical examination, additional methods should be used that will help establish the correct diagnosis. With the wide range of possible medical conditions, your doctor will need a variety of tests and instruments. These include the following:

  1. General analysis of blood and urine.
  2. Biochemical blood tests (infectious antigens, rheumatic tests, tumor markers, acute phase markers, liver function tests, etc. ).
  3. Microbiological analysis of blood and body secretions.
  4. Puncture the marrow.
  5. Computer and magnetic resonance imaging.
  6. Neuromuscular.

It is necessary to consult a rheumatologist, an infectious disease specialist, an oncologist, a hematologist and a neurosurgeon.

A final conclusion about the source of pain in the bones or muscles can be made based on the results of the general examination.

Treatment

Once the diagnosis is established, further measures are determined by the doctor. Treatment tactics will depend on the type of disease, its prevalence, and the condition of the patient's body. It is difficult to develop a universal treatment plan for all conditions that may be accompanied by pain or tenderness in joints, muscles, and bones. It all depends on the specific situation, which determines the use of conservation or operational techniques.

Drug treatment

joint pain medicine

The main treatment for most diseases is the use of drugs. It's hard to imagine modern medicine without them. Many drugs allow you to influence almost any mechanism of the development of the pathology and its causes. With the advent of certain drugs, it has become much easier to treat serious diseases.

Depending on the established diagnosis and clinical condition, the following drugs may be used to relieve pain throughout the body:

  • Antibiotics and anti-parasitic drugs.
  • Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory.
  • Hormones (glucocorticoids).
  • Cytostatics and immunosuppressants.
  • Detoxify.

Many drugs have serious contraindications for cancers. This applies to vitamins and metabolites. Their use can enhance the progression of the pathological process. Of course, the complexity of treatment may include additional medications that will influence the individual symptoms of the disease.

Medicines must follow generally accepted standards of treatment and be prescribed only by a physician.

Surgical treatment

joint pain surgery

Surgery may be indicated for tumors or blood disorders. In the first case, the pathological focal point is removed along with the regional lymph nodes. Given the nature of the disease, the appointment of further radiation therapy is quite possible. With advanced leukemia against the background of conservative treatment, bone marrow transplantation is recommended.

Pain in the musculoskeletal system, which covers nearly the entire body, can be a serious cause for concern. Early diagnosis and proactive treatment will help prevent complications and improve the prognosis for any disease.