Joint Pain

What causes joint pain?

You have a joint at every point in your body where two bones connect. Bones, muscles, ligaments, tendons, blood vessels, nerves, and other tissue types comprise your joints. If any of those components are damaged, significant pain can result.

Some of the more common causes of joint pain include:

• Traumatic or sports injury
• Arthritis
• Joint degeneration
• Bursitis
• Carpal tunnel syndrome
• Certain diseases, including Lyme disease and Paget’s disease of the bone
• Hypothyroidism
• Fibromyalgia
• Certain cancers
• Neuropathy

This is far from a comprehensive list, but it does underscore the need to get an accurate diagnosis for joint pain before determining a treatment path.

What are some options for treating joint pain?

At MedVital Wellness Center you have access to the latest treatments for joint pain. After your diagnostic exam, your provider will explain the available options and give you the details you need to make an informed decision about your care.

Medication sometimes plays a role in treating joint pain. It’s important to understand, however, that all medications carry a risk of side effects, and most do nothing to resolve the cause of your joint pain. The team at MedVital Wellness Center focuses on treatments that can deliver lasting relief while also supporting your body’s ability to heal itself.

What role do injections play in treating joint pain?

Injections allow your practitioner to deliver treatment at the exact site of your joint pain, without having to rely on your circulatory system. Injections are guided by ultrasound technology, which creates real-time imaging of the targeted joint as well as the needle used to administer the injection.

That approach ensures your treatment is focused on the correct area each and every time. It also minimizes the risk of damage to surrounding tissues. Joint injections can be administered in the knee, elbow, hip, back, or neck. Even the small facet joints within your spine can benefit from joint injections.  

One type of injection uses a combination of steroid medication with a liquid anesthetic. These steroid injections reduce inflammation in the targeted joint which can, in turn, reduce pain. While steroid injections won’t relieve pain indefinitely, they can lessen discomfort as your body heals or allow you to complete a course of physical therapy.

Steroid injections can also help in the diagnostic process. Because these injections create almost immediate relief, they can allow your practitioner to determine the exact source of your pain.

Another type of injection is formulated from amniotic fluid, which is the fluid that protects and nourishes a fetus during pregnancy. This natural formula has growth factors, nutrients, and proteins. When injected into a damaged or inflamed joint, amniotic fluid can deliver powerful pain relief while also prompting your natural healing response.

To explore these and other joint pain options, book your visit at MedVital Wellness Center today, online or by phone.