What to do if your hands and feet hurt? Joint pain in legs and arms: causes and treatment

If the joints of the arms and legs hurt, what should one do in such a situation? Of course, the first thing that comes to mind is to go to the clinic and see a local doctor, and what will he find out: prescribe tests or refer you to some specialist. However, many of us know how difficult it is to find time to go to a medical facility, because to do this you will have to take time off work, and then most likely have to sit in line at the hospital. or prepare a certain amount. money to visit a paid medical center.

In general, people have many reasons for self-medicating at home. And it's not uncommon for this to actually help. Well, in our article you will find several folk recipes that help relieve joint pain of various types, as well as a list of pharmacological drugs specifically designed to solve such problems asSo. But first, we advise you to read the next chapter of our story seriously.

The importance of accurate diagnosis

When asking everyone they meet: "If the joints of the limbs hurt, what should you do? ", people often do not understand that the pain that worries them can be the first stage of a serious disease, the development ofThe disease can be stopped or slowed down in the early stages, when the destruction process in the joints has not gone too far.

Carry out treatment independently with the help of lotions, liniments, poultices, etc. v. , the patient puts his or her health at significant risk. After all, home remedies are not safe at all and may be contraindicated for certain diseases.

For example, there is an opinion that to quickly solve joint problems, there is nothing better than a warm-up. But this is not true at all! If the disease is accompanied by swelling, acute inflammatory processes occur in the diseased joints and a local increase in temperature is observed, then applying heat to the problem area can only worsen the situationthan. If the joints of the arms and legs are painful, the causes, symptoms and treatment regimen should first be discussed with specialists (rheumatologist, orthopedist or traumatologist).

We will not criticize folk remedies here: they can be of great help in the fight against various diseases, but only after the doctor makes an accurate diagnosis and gives recommendations on what to do. What will benefit your joints and what will harm you?

Many causes of joint pain

Why joints hurt and what to do in these cases will be much easier to understand if you know about the causes of pain in the limbs and limitation of their motor function. Here are some of the most common joint diseases:

1. Rheumatoid arthritis.A chronic disease in which inflammatory processes are observed in connective tissues. Characteristic symptoms accompanying arthritis:

   • Pain in one or more joints gradually increases over one to two weeks or may occur suddenly. At rest, the pain increases, especially in the morning.
   • Rheumatoid arthritis can affect both large joints in the arms and legs (wrists, ankles, elbows, knees) and small joints in the feet and hands. Inflammation of one joint is called monoarthritis and inflammation of many joints is called polyarthritis.
   • One of the symptoms of the mentioned disease is limited mobility of the affected limbs in the first hours after waking up in the morning.
   • The disease is accompanied by pronounced swelling of the joints, redness of the skin in the problem area and increased sensitivity.

2. Rheumatism.With this chronic disease, all organs (heart, kidneys, lymphatic system, etc. ), including joints, are gradually affected. This process can last for many years. It is very important to start treatment as soon as possible. One of the most characteristic signs of incipient rheumatism is cyclical joint pain, sometimes accompanied by increased body temperature and swelling.

3. Arthritis.A disease associated with degenerative-dystrophic changes occurring in cartilage, with gradual involvement of bone, ligament and synovial tissues in the pathological process. The most common arthritis is the knee, hip, and elbow joints. Main symptoms:

   • the main symptom is pain that occurs when moving or putting pressure on the affected joint;
   • Gradually limits mobility. If the disease is not treated promptly, the process can progress rapidly, eventually leading to disability.

4. Injuries, bruises, physical overload of joints.

5. Gout- one of the types of arthritis.

Joint pain in arms and legs: what to do?

Let's outline the key steps that need to be taken consistently in the case of joint pain:

1. Before finding the cause of the pain, you should try to rest the joint.
2. Take certain non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
3. Contact a medical facility to find out the cause of the pain.
4. Get detailed recommendations from your doctor about your treatment regimen and medications to take, and consult about traditional treatments if you plan to use them.

Arthritis treatment

Arthritis often causes the most severe pain in the hand joints. What to do in this situation? The patient must understand that treatment will require some complex measures. After all, it is necessary not only to relieve symptomatic pain, but also to slow down the inflammatory process, restore normal blood flow to the affected tissues and cartilage, etc. v. To do this, the doctor may prescribe, in addition to non-steroidal antibiotics. - Anti-inflammatory drugs, antibiotics. Within the framework of this article we can offer an excellent recipe from traditional medicine.

For arthritis, honey cabbage compresses are very useful. You need to do it before going to bed. You need to take a fresh cabbage leaf, heat it, apply a thin layer of honey and then apply the coated face to the painful area. The gauze is covered with a layer of cellophane on top, bandaged and wrapped in a warm wool scarf. In the morning, the patient will definitely feel relief.

The role of proper nutrition

Joints in the legs and arms are often painful due to metabolic disorders in the body. Gout is one of the types of arthritis, a constant companion of modern people, it especially afflicts men. Surely everyone has heard this term: "salt deposition in the joints". Some people think it's all just regular table salt, but that's not the case.

When suffering from gout, uric acid salts are deposited in the joints, and this happens due to the constant consumption of meat, fatty fish and alcohol. Smoking also contributes to the development of the pathological process. If the joints of your fingers and toes become swollen and painful, the discomfort may be a sign of gout.

This disease is easier to prevent than to cure. The main recommendation for preventing the disease is proper nutrition. There is nothing complicated: you need to add vegetables, whole grains, fruits, cheese to your diet and give up cigarettes and alcohol.

Osteoarthritis. Treatment

Nowadays, quite a few people complain that the joints in their arms and legs hurt. What to do if the pain is caused by arthritis? Here, most likely, you cannot do without NSAIDs: they will help quickly relieve pain. A doctor's consultation is required. It will be necessary to take an X-ray - it will help the doctor determine the extent of joint destruction.

In the treatment of joint diseases, along with anti-inflammatory drugs, supplementing cartilage protectors (joint cartilage restorers) plays an important role.

A good natural chondroprotector alternative is regular gelatin, which can be purchased at the store. This product should be diluted in warm water and taken several times a day. And for the fastest recovery of cartilage, it is recommended to prepare homemade jelly or jelly meat more often, it also contains a large amount of natural substances from which cartilage tissue is formed.

Medicine

Many times when we mentioned in our articles the question "what to do if the joints of the arms and legs hurt", we wrote that the pain and inflammation are significantly relieved by non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, orabbreviated as NSAIDs. When treating joints, ointments from this group are very effective.

For severe pain, you can take not only topical ointments, but also highly effective NSAIDs in the form of tablets or powders.

Physical therapy

If joint pain persists, the doctor may recommend that the patient undergo certain physical procedures:

• UHF;
• phonology or electrophoresis;
• ultraviolet radiation;
• magnetic therapy;
• transcutaneous electrical stimulation;
• paraffin bath and applications, etc. v.

Treat joints with ointment prepared according to a traditional recipe

We continue to consider the main topic of the article: "What to do if the joints hurt? "Treatment with independently prepared ointments can be an excellent addition to the procedures prescribed by the doctor. determined. What are these remedies and how to implement them?

1. Ointment for rheumatism.To prepare it, you will need 100 g of mustard powder and 200 g of table salt, which must be mixed together, then add enough kerosene to the mustard-salt mixture to obtain a mass with a thickness similar to village sour cream. The medicine is rubbed into the painful area at night.
2. Arthritis ointment made from honey and egg yolks.Take one egg yolk, a block of beeswax (small) and 1 tbsp. I. HoneyFirst, the yolk is heated in a water bath, then the wax is crushed and honey is poured in. Everything is mixed to form a homogeneous ointment. To use, take a piece of gauze folded in several layers, put a hot mass on top, in this form the medicine is applied to the joint and securely fixed with a bandage.
3. Ointment for the treatment of arthritic joints.Take equal parts of nettle leaves, juniper berries (green) and sheep oil. The fruits and leaves are thoroughly crushed in a mortar and mixed with oil. The prepared ointment should be rubbed into the joints in the morning and evening.

Activated carbon treatment

There is a simple but effective treatment for gout. To do this, you will need activated carbon. You will need to make a paste from this product. This is done as follows: pellets from several packages of charcoal are ground into powder, add a little water and 1 tbsp. spoons of crushed flax seeds. After thoroughly mixing, the mixture is applied to the sore joint overnight, then bandaged and wrapped warmly until morning.

Clay therapy

This is another excellent folk remedy if the joints of the legs and arms hurt. We discussed the causes and treatments of many diseases and discovered that different diseases require different treatments. But there is an almost universal recipe - compresses, baths, clay wraps, which can be used to cure arthritis, arthrosis and rheumatic pain. Clay perfectly soothes pain, reduces inflammation and swelling, draws toxins from the body, etc. v.

Physical education and sports: good or bad for joints

People who are too passionate about sports activities often suffer from joint pain. What should you do if your knees and ankles hurt after long, grueling runs seemingly done for health reasons? First, review your lifestyle. Any excess is harmful - this saying also applies to sports.

To relieve frequent discomfort in the joints of the legs, sometimes it is enough for a person to simply reduce physical activity. Jogging or walking (for older people), morning exercise, yoga, swimming are all good for improving health. All of the above are unlikely to cause your joint pain. On the contrary, such physical education will give them strength and endurance.

Last word

We hope the information presented in the article will help those who are suffering from pain in the joints of their arms and legs. Diseases and treatments, folk recipes and lists of medicines - all this material was carefully studied by us in advance and only then presented to the public for viewing. Use this information to protect your health and pray that your joints stay healthy!