Overview
A joint is a structure where two or more bones meet and fit together. Other tissues within a joint include ligaments, tendons, cartilage, and synovial fluid. Joint problems arise when something goes wrong with any of these structures. If a joint condition or injury is preventing you from engaging in life, contact us at Aptiva Health! We offer care in many areas, and specialize in treating joint conditions and injuries as well.
At Aptiva Health, we offer same-day and walk-in appointments for joint injuries and conditions to evaluate, diagnose, and make the appropriate referral for additional treatment based upon your specific joint injury or condition. We treat these conditions in our General Medicine, Orthopedics, Sports Medicine, Pain Management, and Physical Therapy departments.
Joint Injuries & Conditions
Typical joint injuries occur in the shoulders, knees, ankles, elbows and wrists. These joints can swell and suffer from inflammation and redness, making them immobile and limiting their range of motion. Joint injuries often occur as a result of contact sports, motor vehicle collisions, falls, and other accidents. Joint injuries can range from mild sprains and strains to more serious fractures or dislocations.
Common joint injuries include:
Shoulder - rotator cuff tears, dislocation, separation, labral tear, impingement syndrome, frozen shoulder, bursitis, tendinitis, bone spurs, and fracture.
Knee - meniscus tears, ACL tear, MCL tear, PCL tear, LCL tear, bursitis, patellar dislocation, bursitis, fracture, patellar tendinitis (jumper’s knee), chondromalacia (runner’s knee) and arthritis.
Ankle - sprain, anterior talofibular ligament (ATFL) tear, calcaneofibular ligament (CFL) tear and fracture.
Elbow - tendonitis (golfer and tennis elbow), osteoarthritis, bursitis, sprain, dislocation, fracture and UCL tear
Wrist - carpal tunnel syndrome, ganglion cysts, gout, osteoarthritis, sprains and strains, tendinitis and fracture.
Signs and symptoms of joint conditions vary according to the specific problem. Pain is a common symptom and varies with the cause. It can feel sharp and severe or dull and achy. Other symptoms include stiffness, limited range of motion, inflammation, redness, stiffness, weakness, and swelling and warmth over the joint. In fractures and dislocations, the joint may have a noticeable deformity.
Many joint conditions and injuries also affect the muscles. As a result, you may notice muscle aches, tenderness, or bruising.
Causes & Diagnosis
Overuse injuries from repetitive motion are a common cause of problems like tendonitis and stress fractures. Overuse combined with age-related wear and tear on the joints can increase the risk of osteoarthritis.
Traumatic injuries (accidental or sports-related injuries) are the usual cause of acute injuries, such as broken bones, sprains, and dislocations.
Some conditions have precise causes. For example, gout occurs when uric acid crystal deposits form in the joint. People who develop gout either produce too much uric acid, or their body can’t flush it out as well.
Diagnosis
Accurate diagnosis for the source of your joint pain will require a comprehensive physical examination. In the physical examination, your doctor will likely:
Inspect your joint for swelling, pain, tenderness, warmth and visible bruising
Check to see how far you can move your affected extremity in different directions
Push on or pull the joint to evaluate the integrity of the structures in your joint
IMAGING TESTS
In some cases, your doctor might suggest tests such as:
X-ray. X-ray is used to help detect bone fractures and degenerative joint disease.
Computerized tomography (CT) scan. CT scanners combine X-rays taken from many different angles, to create cross-sectional images of the inside of your body. CT scans can help diagnose bone problems and subtle fractures. A special kind of CT scan can accurately identify gout even when the joint is not inflamed.
Ultrasound. This technology uses sound waves to produce real-time images of the soft tissue structures within and around your joint. Your doctor may want to move your affected extremity into different positions during the ultrasound to check for specific problems.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). An MRI uses radio waves and a powerful magnet to create 3D images of the inside of your knee. This test is particularly useful in revealing injuries to soft tissues such as ligaments, tendons, cartilage and muscles.
Treatment Options
Treatments will vary, depending upon what exactly is causing your knee pain.
MEDICATIONS
Your doctor may prescribe medications to help relieve pain and to treat underlying conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis or gout. For mild to moderate joint pain, your doctor may suggest rest, heat or ice and a medicine like ibuprofen or aspirin to reduce the pain and swelling.
PHYSICAL THERAPY
Strengthening the muscles around your joint will make it more stable. Your doctor may recommend physical therapy or different types of strengthening exercises based on the specific condition that is causing your pain.
If you are physically active or practice a sport, you may need exercises to correct movement patterns that may be affecting your joint and to establish good technique during your sport or activity. Exercises to improve your flexibility and balance also are important.
INJECTION THERAPY
In some cases, your doctor may suggest injecting medications or other substances directly into your joint. Examples include:
Corticosteroids. Injections of a corticosteroid drug into your joint may help reduce the symptoms of an arthritis flare and provide pain relief that may last a few months. These injections aren't effective in all cases.
Hyaluronic acid. A thick fluid, similar to the fluid that naturally lubricates joints, hyaluronic acid can be injected into your joint to improve mobility and ease pain. Although study results have been mixed about the effectiveness of this treatment, relief from one or a series of shots may last as long as six months.
Platelet-rich plasma (PRP). PRP contains a concentration of many different growth factors that appear to reduce inflammation and promote healing. These types of injections tend to work better in people whose joint pain is caused by tendon tears, sprains or injury.
Stem cell injections. The cartilage covering the ends of the bones enables the bones to glide smoothly against one another with only slight friction. Osteoarthritis causes damage to the cartilage and leads to increased friction — resulting in pain, inflammation, and ultimately, a loss of mobility and function. The goal of stem cell therapy is to use the body’s own healing mechanisms to help repair and slow the deterioration of body tissues, such as cartilage.
Stem cell therapy for joints aims to:
slow and repair damaged cartilage
decrease inflammation and reduce pain
possibly delay or prevent the need for knee replacement surgery
In simple terms, treatment involves:
taking a small amount of blood, usually from the arm
concentrating the stem cells together
injecting the stem cells back into the joint
ORTHOVISC® injections. ORTHOVISC® is a viscous (thick) sterile mixture made from highly purified hyaluronan from rooster combs. Hyaluronan is a natural chemical found in the body. High amounts of hyaluronan are found in the joint tissues and in the fluid that fills the joints. The body's own hyaluronan acts like a lubricant and a shock absorber in the joint. It is needed for the joint to work properly. When you have osteoarthritis, there may not be enough natural hyaluronan in the joint, and the quality of that hyaluronan may be poorer than normal. ORTHOVISC® is given in a shot (injection) directly into the joint. ORTHOVISC® is used to relieve joint pain due to osteoarthritis. It is used for patients who do not get adequate pain relief from simple pain relievers like acetaminophen or from exercise and physical therapy.
Sometimes cartilage tears, rotator cuff tears, impingement, bursitis, frozen shoulder, knee ligament tears, meniscus tears, and other ligament and tendon tears do not improve with rest and medicine. In these instances, you may be referred to our orthopedic surgery department or sports medicine department to discuss what surgical interventions may be available to you after exhausting conservative treatment measures. With any joint injury or condition, your treatment plan will include exercises to help you stretch and strengthen the joint, and to improve your range of motion.
If you have an injury that requires surgery, it's usually not necessary to have the operation immediately. Before making any decision, consider the pros and cons of both nonsurgical rehabilitation and surgical reconstruction in relation to what's most important to you. If you choose to have surgery, your options may include:
Arthroscopic surgery. Depending on your injury, your doctor may be able to examine and repair your joint damage using a fiber-optic camera and long, narrow tools inserted through just a few small incisions around your joint. Arthroscopy may be used to remove loose bodies from your joint, remove or repair damaged cartilage (especially if it is causing your joint to lock), and reconstruct torn ligaments.
Total joint replacement (arthroplasty). In this procedure, your surgeon cuts away damaged bone and cartilage surrounding your affected joint and replaces it with an artificial joint made of metal alloys, high-grade plastics and polymers.