How to Know When to See a Doctor For Joint Pain

Joint pain, also called arthralgia, can be caused by a wide variety of both minor and serious illnesses and injuries. To know when to see a doctor, you will need to know when to try basic home treatment methods and when joint pain needs immediate medical care.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Baking soda (optional)
• Journal

Try Home Treatment Before Seeing a Doctor

1. Soak the affected joints in a warm bath to reduce swelling and lessen pain. Adding baking soda to the bath water can sometimes help.

2. Get a gentle massage. Stimulation of the muscles and tendons surrounding the painful joints can restore flexibility to your joints.

3. Give your joints a rest from repetitive activities to reduce the pain.

4. Build up the muscles around your joints to reduce pain and prevent future strains. Exercising under water is an effective way to build these muscles without placing extra strain on your achy joints.

5. Stretch regularly and gently to keep muscles and tendons flexible and reduce joint pain.

6. Take an over-the-counter pain reliever. Studies have shown that aspirin and ibuprofen are especially effective for reducing both joint pain and swelling.

7. Keep a journal of your joint pain and the treatments you have tried. Write down the nature and location of the pain, any other illnesses you have and any family history of joint pain. Bring this with you to the doctor to help her diagnose you.

Know Symptoms of Serious Illnesses That Require a Doctor

1. Assess yourself for risk factors associated with sickle-cell anemia. Factors include an African or African-American heritage and fatigue in addition to joint pain.

2. Take your temperature. Joint pain in combination with a fever can signal an infection such as bursitis, which requires laboratory tests to diagnose.

3. Track the duration of your joint pain. Doctors recommend that you see a doctor for any unexplained joint pain that lasts longer than 3 days.

Tips & Warnings

• See your doctor if you are stopping steroid use. Steroid withdrawal can cause severe joint pain, as well as dizziness and abdominal pain, so you should see a doctor to get a healthy schedule for reducing your steroid intake.

• Wear the proper shoes when exercising to prevent exercise-related joint pain from occurring.

• Know that aspirin can cause Reye's Syndrome and brain damage when given to children.

• Always report joint pain to your doctor if you are HIV positive. Joint pain in people with compromised immune systems can signal necropsy (dead bone) in your joints.