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- General:
- Pain is the main symptom of most joint, tendon, and muscle
disorders. The pain may be dull, sharp, radiating, or local and may be mild to severe. Although pain may be acute (immediate), as is the case with most injuries, it may become chronic (long-term) with illnesses such as rheumatoid arthritis.
- Muscle pain:
- Symptoms of muscle pain include pain, weakness, paralysis, muscle spasms, and coordination problems.
- Joint pain:
- Symptoms of joint problems include pain, swelling, stiffness, and/or fever in the joints. In the absence of an injury, pain in one or more of the joints is often caused by inflammation or infection.
- Stiffness is the feeling that the range of motion of a joint or muscle is more limited than normal or difficult to move. Some people with stiffness are capable of moving the joint through its full range of motion, although with difficulty. Joint stiffness usually is worse immediately when arising after lying or sitting still. Joint stiffness is common with arthritis.
- Joint noises, such as creaks and clicks, are common and harmless in many individuals, but they can also occur with specific problems of the joints. For example, the base of the knee cap may creak when it is damaged by osteoarthritis.
- Tendon pain:
- Symptoms of tendon problems include pain, tenderness, redness, warmth, and/or swelling near the injured tendon. Pain may increase with activity. Symptoms of tendon injury may affect the precise area where the injured tendon is located or may radiate out from the joint area, unlike arthritis pain, which tends to be confined to the joint. Other symptoms include crepitus, or a crunchy sound or feeling when the tendon is used. Crepitus is usually painful. Crepitus may occur in osteoarthritis when the cartilage around joints has eroded away and the joint ends grind against one another, or when the fracture surfaces of two broken bones rub together.
- Pain and stiffness may be worse during the night or when getting up in the morning. Stiffness may occur in the joint near the affected tendon. Movement or mild exercise of the joint usually reduces the stiffness. However, a tendon injury typically gets worse if the affected tendon is not allowed to rest and heal. Too much movement may worsen existing symptoms or bring the pain and stiffness back after improvement.
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