Joint pain, sometimes called arthralgia, is discomfort that occurs in a location where two bones meet. Pain can occur in joints anywhere in the body, including the hands, back, knees, neck and shoulders. There are many common causes of joint pain, ranging from injury to arthritis to infectious and inflammatory diseases.
Injury and Overuse
Injuries such as broken bones, dislocations and muscle sprains and strains can all cause pain in the affected joint(s).Other conditions caused by overuse may also lead to joint pain. For example, chondromalacia patellae, or degeneration of the cartilage beneath the kneecap, is a condition that commonly causes joint pain in adolescents and young adults. It may occur as a result of excessive force on the knee, overuse, or injury, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center.
Autoimmune Diseases
Autoimmune diseases are those that occur when the immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissues in your body. Rheumatoid arthritis--a progressive, inflammatory disease that attacks the joints--and lupus--a chronic disease that causes inflammation of the joints, kidneys, blood cells, skin, lungs and heart--may lead to severe joint pain.
Sarcoidosis is an inflammatory disease that is characterized by the growth of small lumps called granulomas throughout the body, especially in the lungs or lymph nodes. According to the Mayo Clinic, the condition is thought to be caused by an abnormal immune response, and it can cause arthritis and joint pain in the wrists, hands, elbows and ankles.
Arthritis
Many types of arthritis cause progressive, chronic joint pain. Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis and commonly causes pain in the joints of the hips, knees, hands or spine, according to the National Institutes of Health. Septic arthritis is an infection that has spread from another location of the body to one joint, causing severe pain. Gout is a type of arthritis that causes severe attacks of pain in the joints--usually in the big toe. According to the Mayo Clinic, pseudogout is a condition similar to gout that also causes sudden, painful swelling in the joints; however, it usually causes pain in the larger joints of the extremities.
Infectious Diseases
According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, a number of infectious diseases can cause joint pain. For example, Lyme disease, an inflammatory disease caused by a tick bite, commonly causes joint swelling and discomfort, as does osteomyelitis, an acute or chronic bone infection caused by bacteria or fungi. Measles, mumps, rubella or German measles, flu virus, chickenpox, and rheumatic fever are other relatively common infectious diseases that can cause arthralgia. Rheumatic fever is an inflammatory disease common in children aged 5 to 15 years that develops as a complication of strep throat infection with group A streptococcus bacteria. Epstein-Barr virus is a very common infection that causes mononucleosis and other diseases that cause prolonged fatigue, weakness and flu-like symptoms, and it may also lead to joint pain.
Bursitis and Tendonitis
Bursitis is a condition characterized by the swelling of fluid-filled sacs, called bursae, found between tendons and skin or bone. It can cause acute or chronic pain in the joints, especially with movement.
Tendonitis, or the inflammation of a tendon that connects muscle to bone, can also cause painful joints. Commonly occurring in the elbow, Achilles tendon in the heel, wrist or shoulder, tendonitis is caused by injury, overuse, aging or systemic disease such as diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center.
