Muscle & joint pain

Muscle pain is a general term used for a symptom or symptoms which arise as a result of a wide number of health conditions. Pain may be present in one specific area of a muscle such as when a muscle strain occurs, or be more widespread during viral infections such as the flu.
Doctors refer to muscle pain as myalgia and this gives the root word to terms such as fibromyalgia (pain in the muscles and soft tissues of the body) as well as polymyalgia rheumatica, a condition giving rise to pain in the head and caused by a disorder of the immune system.

Joint pain can arise from a wide variety of causes. Depending on the problem, one or more joints can become inflamed or painful.

The joints in our body are complex structures consisting of bones, muscles, ligaments, tendons and other tissues. Injury or damage to a joint can involve any of these structures and because of this, it is sometimes difficult to be precise as to which of these are the cause of pain. Often, all parts of the joint are affected and become inflamed.

The most commonly affected joints are the knee and the hip. This is because these joints are flexible and have a wide range of movement. They also withstand a lot of stress and bear nearly all of your weight.

Arthritis and osteoarthritis are characterized by the degradation of the cartilage that covers the surfaces of the joints. Repetitive movements such as jogging, typing or working on an assembly line, are largely to blame for this condition.  

When the cartilage is worn off, the bone extremities rub directly one against the other, causing inflammation and pain.  

Pain is the way your body sends a distress signal; it should not be ignored.