Showing posts with label Pain. Show all posts

Knee pain

Knee pain can often be treated at home. You should start to feel better in a few days. See a GP if the pain is very bad or lasts a long time.

How to ease knee pain and swelling

Try these things at first:

put as little weight as possible on the knee – for example, avoid standing for a long time
use an ice pack (or bag of frozen peas wrapped in a tea towel) on your knee for up to 20 minutes every 2 to 3 hours
take paracetamol

Non-urgent advice:See a GP if:

it does not improve within a few weeks
you cannot move your knee or put any weight on it
your knee locks, painfully clicks or gives way – painless clicking is normal

Urgent advice:Get advice from 111 now if:

your knee is very painful
your knee is badly swollen or has changed shape
you have a very high temperature, feel hot and shivery, and have redness or heat around the knee – this can be a sign of infection

111 will tell you what to do. They can tell you the right place to get help if you need to see someone.

Go to 111.nhs.uk or call 111.

Other ways to get help

Common causes of knee pain

Knee pain can be a symptom of many different conditions.

A doctor will suggest treatment based on the condition causing your pain.

They might:

refer you to hospital for a scan or specialist treatment (for example, surgery)
prescribe medication or physiotherapy

Use these links to get an idea of what can be done about knee pain. But do not self-diagnose – see a GP if you're worried.

Knee pain after an injury

Knee symptoms	Possible cause
Pain after overstretching, overusing or twisting, often during exercise	sprains and strains
Pain between your kneecap and shin, often caused by repetitive running or jumping	tendonitis
Unstable, gives way when you try to stand, unable to straighten, may hear a popping sound during injury	torn ligament, tendon or meniscus, cartilage damage
Teenagers and young adults with pain and swelling below kneecap	Osgood-Schlatter's disease
Kneecap changes shape after a collision or sudden change in direction	dislocated kneecap

Knee pain with no obvious injury

Knee symptoms	Possible cause
Pain and stiffness in both knees, mild swelling, more common in older people	osteoarthritis
Warm and red, kneeling or bending makes pain and swelling worse	bursitis
Swelling, warmth, bruising, more likely while taking anticoagulants	bleeding in the joint
Hot and red, sudden attacks of very bad pain	gout or septic arthritis

Joint Pain

Joint pain

Joint pain is a very common problem with many possible causes, but it's usually a result of injury or arthritis.

In older people, joint pain that gets steadily worse is usually a sign of osteoarthritis. It may affect just 1 joint or many.

See your GP if you have persistent symptoms of osteoarthritis.

The information and advice on this page should not be used to self-diagnose your condition, but may give you a better idea of what's causing your pain.

Pain in just 1 joint

Knee pain

The knee joint is probably the most frequently damaged joint and is particularly vulnerable as it takes the full weight of your body.

But knee pain is not always a joint problem. Learn about the most common causes of knee pain and what you should do.

Inflammation of the joint lining

If you have injured the joint recently and it suddenly becomes painful again, the thin layer of tissue lining the joints and tendons may be inflamed, a condition called traumatic synovitis.

It usually does not cause any redness or heat.

You should be able to manage injury-related swelling at home with anti-inflammatory medicines, such as ibuprofen, an icepack and rest.

Gout or pseudogout

If the skin over the joint is hot and red, and the pain comes in repeated attacks, the cause is likely to be either gout or pseudogout.

Both of these are types of arthritis.

Gout usually affects the joint of the big toe first before affecting other joints.

It's important to correctly diagnose gout, as treatment will prevent future attacks of joint pain and disability.

Pseudogout is similar to gout, but usually affects the knee joint first.

See your GP if you think you have gout or pseudogout.

Damage to the cartilage at the back of the kneecap

Knee pain that feels worse when you go up or down stairs could be a sign of a damaged kneecap, called chondromalacia patellae.

This should not cause any redness or heat around the knee.

The cause is not understood, but it can be linked to overuse of the knee.

You can treat this problem yourself with anti-inflammatory medicines, such as ibuprofen, an icepack and rest.

Bleeding into the joint space

If you have recently had an injury to the knee joint, such as a torn ligament or knee fracture, it may cause bleeding into the joint spaces. This is known as haemarthrosis.

This is more likely to happen if you take anticoagulants, such as warfarin.

Signs of haemarthrosis are:

swelling of the knee
warmth
stiffness and bruising, which occur soon after the injury

Go to A&E immediately for treatment if you have a very swollen knee following an injury.

Less common causes

Sudden pain in a joint is less commonly caused by:

a fracture – read about a broken arm or wrist, broken leg, broken ankle or hip fracture
reactive arthritis – which usually develops after an infection and tends to affect young adults
psoriatic arthritis – a type of arthritis that affects up to 1 in 5 people with psoriasis
rheumatoid arthritis – which can start in just 1 joint, with the pain coming and going
Osgood-Schlatter's disease – swelling and tenderness over the bony bump just below the kneecap

Rarely, the cause may be:

septic arthritis – a serious health condition that causes a painful, hot, swollen joint that you will not be able to move (sometimes with a high temperature); see your GP urgently or go to A&E
haemophilia – an inherited illness that affects the blood's ability to clot
a tropical infection
cancer
crumbling of the bone (avascular necrosis) – caused by a lack of blood supply
repeated dislocation of the joint

Pain in many joints

Rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis is a type of arthritis that causes pain and swelling in the joints, usually the hands, feet and wrists.

The pain may come and go in the early stages, with long periods between attacks.

It can make you feel generally unwell and tired.

Find out more about the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis

Psoriatic arthritis

Psoriatic arthritis affects up to 1 in 5 people with psoriasis.

This type of arthritis is unpredictable, but flare-ups can usually be controlled with treatment.

Like other types of arthritis, it means that 1 or more of your joints are inflamed and become swollen, stiff, painful and difficult to move.

A viral infection that causes arthritis

Examples of viral infections that can cause pain in the joints and symptoms of a fever include:

viral hepatitis – liver inflammation caused by a virus
rubella – a viral infection that used to be common in children

A disease of the connective tissue

Widespread joint pain is sometimes a sign of a disease that affects almost all the organs of the body, such as:

lupus – where the immune system mistakenly attacks healthy cells, tissue and organs
scleroderma – where the immune system attacks connective tissue underneath the skin, causing hard, thickened areas of skin

Less common causes

Widespread joint pain can less commonly be caused by:

a rarer type of arthritis – such as ankylosing spondylitis, juvenile arthritis or reactive arthritis
Behçet's syndrome – a rare and poorly understood condition that causes inflammation of the blood vessels
Henoch-Schönlein purpura – a rare condition, usually seen in children, that causes blood vessels to become inflamed
cancer
some treatments – including steroid therapy, isoniazid and hydralazine
hypertrophic pulmonary osteoarthropathy – a rare disorder that causes clubbing of the fingers, seen in people with lung cancer
sarcoidosis – a rare condition that causes small patches of tissue to develop in the organs

Breast pain

There are many reasons breasts can be painful. Breast pain by itself is unlikely to be a symptom of cancer.

Breast pain is usually linked to periods

Symptoms of breast pain caused by periods:

dull, heavy or aching pain – from mild to very bad
pain that begins up to 2 weeks before a period, gets worse and then goes away when the period ends
usually (but not always) affects both breasts and sometimes pain spreads to the armpit

How to ease the pain yourself

You can:

take paracetamol or ibuprofen, or rub painkilling gel on your breasts
wear a properly fitted bra during the day and a soft bra to sleep in

There's little evidence that vitamin E tablets or evening primrose oil help with breast pain.

Breast pain not linked to periods

Sometimes breast pain is caused by:

injuries or sprains to the neck, shoulder or back – these can also be felt as breast pain
medicines like the contraceptive pill and some antidepressants – check the side effects in the packet's information leaflet
conditions like mastitis or a breast abscess – these can cause breast pain along with other symptoms
pregnancy – breast pain can be an early sign

Breast pain and the menopause

Hormone changes during the menopause can cause breast pain.

Once the menopause is over (you have had 12 months without a period) the pain should not return.

Non-urgent advice:See a GP about breast pain if:

it's not improving or painkillers are not helping
you have a very high temperature or feel hot and shivery
any part of your breast is red, hot or swollen
there's a history of breast cancer in your family
you have any signs of pregnancy – you could do a pregnancy test first

Urgent advice:Get advice from 111 now if:

there's a hard lump in your breast that does not move around
you get nipple discharge, which may be streaked with blood
1 or both breasts change shape
the skin on your breast is dimpled (like orange peel)
you have a rash on or around the nipple, or the nipple has sunk into the breast

These can be signs of something more serious.

111 will tell you what to do. They can arrange a phone call from a nurse or doctor if you need one.

Go to 111.nhs.uk or call 111.

Other ways to get help

Page last reviewed: 28 June 2017
Next review due: 28 June 2020