Benign Reasons Causing Joint Pain

As we get older, our joints begin to decay and in many cases, depending on the use we have given them throughout our lifetime, start to ache. There are different reasons why this occurs; however, they can be classified in 3 main ones: benign reasons, osteoarthritis and soft tissue abnormality.

Today we are going to talk about the benign reasons behind aching joints and the way to overcome the issues it represent to get better.

• Inappropriate activity: Some people believe their bodies do not have limitations and put themselves to the limit. When you engage in activities where your joints are stretched to these limits, pain may arise as a sign of a possible injury. Pain is the mechanism your body uses to tell you when to stop. If you don’t listen you will surely find yourself in an orthopedic practice. Naming specific activities here is a little complex because you can engage in thousands of movements doing a diverse number of things. However, the maxima here is not exceeding the limits of your range of motion no matter what you perform and stop as soon as you feel you are exciding it.
• Increased Body Mass Index (BMI): Getting older is the natural process of life. We all know and accept it. Now, one the things that happens during these process is a deceleration of your metabolism. However, this is something you can prevent and reverse if you get into an exercise regime (More about it next). The point here is that as a result of your metabolic deceleration you increase your body mass and your joints have to hold more weight. Therefore, get into a situation where they stress more. In fact, for every 20 pounds over ideal body weight your risk of osteoarthritis increases by 10%.
• No activity: The modern sedentary lifestyle set-up we have, where people sit at their jobs for 8 hours or more and then go home tired to rest and watch television, computers and everything in between, have created the ‘syndrome’ known as Couch Potato. The lack of activity joined to the American traditional diet packed with hundreds (to not say thousands) of calories have translated into more overweighed people than ever before. When you exercise, eat well and have an overall healthy lifestyle, all your body, including your joints, benefit from it. As a matter of fact, the scenario we have described is the root of many illness and health issues around the world. However, that is topic for another day.

Like we said before, the good news about this is that if you become conscious of the reasons leading to your joints to ache and start to take action, you can avoid the pain and actually create a better life for you. Now, if you find yourself with joint pain, the first thing you need to do is consult your orthopedic doctor so he can evaluate you and determine if the reasons causing the pain are benign or not.

If you want our Dr. Mead to help you solve any questions related to this matter and or find out more information, please contact us so we can guide you in the right direction.

Orthopedic Corner | Leon Mead MD Orthopedic Doctor | 730 Goodlette Road North, Suite 201  Naples Florida 34102 | Phone: (239) 262-1119