Bone And Joint Problems

Joint pain (called arthralgia) may or may not be related to joint inflammation (called arthritis). Arthritis may cause swelling as well as pain. A wide variety of disorders can cause arthritis, including inflammatory arthritis (such as rheumatoid arthritis), osteoarthritis, infectious arthritis, gout and related disorders, autoimmune disorders (such as systemic lupus erythematosus) and vasculitic disorders (such as immunoglobulin A–associated vasculitis), osteonecrosis, and injuries affecting the part of a bone inside a joint.

Arthritic pain can be new (acute, for example, when caused by infections, injuries, or gout), or longstanding (chronic, for example, when caused by rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis). Pain resulting from arthritis is typically worse when the joint is moved but usually is present even when the joint is not being moved. Sometimes pain originating in structures near the joint, such as ligaments, tendons, and bursae, seems to be coming from the joint.