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- General:
- Individuals who are more susceptible to joint, tendon, and muscle problems are those who tend to maintain fixed positions for extended periods of time (such as sitting in a chair or standing), perform repetitive movements of the limbs (such as factory workers), overload particular muscle groups (such as movers or manual workers), and those who apply pressure on body parts and use forceful movements (such as athletes). Previous injury to a muscle or bone will cause susceptibility to joint, tendon, or muscle problems.
- Joint, tendon, and muscle pain can be caused by injury to bones, joints, muscles, tendons, ligaments, bursae, or nerves. If pain occurs when there has been no injury to a joint, tendon, or muscle, or if pain from an injury persists for more than a few days, then another cause may be responsible, such as nutrient depletion of magnesium or Coenzyme Q10.
- Muscle pain:
- Muscle pain is known as myalgia.
Muscle pain is often less intense than that of bone pain but can be very unpleasant. For example, a muscle spasm or cramp (a sustained painful muscle contraction) in the calf is an intense pain that is commonly called a charley horse.
- The most common causes of muscle pain are: injury or trauma, overuse, and tension or stress. Other causes include: certain drugs, including ACE inhibitors for lowering blood pressure, cocaine, and statins for lowering cholesterol (these drugs may deplete certain nutrients from the body); dermatomyositis, a connective-tissue disease that is characterized by inflammation of the muscles and the skin; electrolyte imbalances, such as too little potassium or calcium; fibromyalgia, a condition that causes widespread muscular pain in the body; infections, including influenza, Lyme disease, and malaria; and a breakdown of muscle fibers called rhabdomyolysis, which results in the release of muscle fiber contents (myoglobin) into the bloodstream.
- Joint pain:
- Joint pain, also called arthralgia, is a symptom of injury, infection, illnesses (especially arthritis), or an allergic reaction to medication.
- Causes of joint pain include: recent joint injury; joint strain; joint sprain; previous joint injury; infections such as influenza and the common cold; arthritis, including rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, and ankylosing spondylitis; gout; sickle cell disease; Lyme disease; acute rheumatic fever; and cancer.
- Bone pain due to joint damage can be deep, penetrating, dull, or sharp.
Bone pain, or ostealgia, refers to pain within the affected bone. Common causes of bone pain include underlying medical disorders or past bone traumas. Other causes are: viral illness, leukemia, sepsis/bacteraemia (infection of the blood), physical trauma to the bone (such as a fall), arthritic pain, fibromyalgia, neoplasm/cancer, Paget's disease, and osteoporosis.
- Tendon pain:
- Tendon pain, also called tendinopathy, affects joint areas, most commonly the shoulder, elbow, wrist, hip, knee, and ankle.
- Common causes of tendon pain include tendonitis, bursitis, tenosynovitis (inflammation of the fluid-filled sheath that surrounds a tendon), lateral and medial epicondylitis (tennis elbow), and tendon injuries. Tendon and ligament pain is often worse when the affected and inflamed tendon or ligament is stretched or moved, which happens during walking. Common causes of ligament pain include injuries (sprains).
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