|
- Depression: Some individuals with joint, tendon, and muscle problems may suffer from depression. This may happen if the joint, tendon, or muscle disorder interferes significantly with the patient's lifestyle, including causing pain. Individuals should consult their healthcare providers if they experience feelings of sadness, low self-esteem, loss of pleasure, apathy, difficulty functioning, or thoughts of suicide for two weeks or longer with no known underlying cause. These may be signs of depression.
- Joint damage: In some cases, joint disorders can lead to severe joint damage. In such cases, surgery, such as a joint replacement, may be necessary. Individuals should regularly visit their healthcare providers to monitor their conditions.
- Joint deformity: Joint deformities, major changes in the shape of a joint compared to the average shape, are acquired after birth as the result of injury or disease. An example is hand deformities commonly seen with rheumatoid arthritis.
- Decreased mobility: Patients with joint, tendon, and muscle disorders may have decreased mobility in their joints. Joint mobility decreases as the joint becomes more damaged.
- Muscular atrophy: Muscle atrophy refers to a decrease in the size of skeletal muscle, which occurs due to age, lack of use, body wasting (such as in cancer), or diseases such as muscular dystrophy (a genetic, hereditary muscle disease caused by progressive muscle weakness). When a muscle atrophies, it necessarily becomes weaker, since the ability to exert force is related to mass.
 |
Learn
