Recognizing and Understanding Joint Pain

What causes joint pain?

When a joint is healthy, all of the parts work together and the joint moves easily and without pain. However, diseases or injury can disturb the normal functioning of your joints resulting in:

• Pain
• Muscle weakness
• Limited movement

Arthritis is one of the most common causes of joint disorders. More than 42 million people in the United States are diagnosed with arthritis.* The most common types of arthritis are:

• Osteoarthritis
• Rheumatoid Arthritis
• Post-Traumatic Arthritis
• Paget’s Disease
• Avascular Necrosis

Other causes of joint pain are deformity or direct injury to the joint. And sometimes, regardless of the cause of your pain, it can be made worse when you avoid using your joint altogether. That’s because with less use, the muscles around your joint weaken, which can make it even more difficult and painful to move.