Joint Pain
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Texas Pain & Orthopedics
Pain Management, Sports Medicine and Regenerative Orthopedics serving Austin, Pflugerville, Round Rock, Georgetown, Hutto, Taylor, Cedar Park, and Central Texas.
Joint injuries or conditions, such as arthritis, can severely limit your mobility in addition to the pain they cause. If you’re experiencing joint pain, fellowship-trained pain management expert Ike Malik, MD, of Texas Pain & Orthopedics in Pflugerville, Texas, can help. Joints that are particularly vulnerable to damage and pain include the hip, knee, shoulder, and elbow. Dr. Malik specializes in relieving pain in these and other joints. To learn more about the cutting-edge treatments available at Texas Pain & Orthopedics, call the office today or book an appointment online.
Joint Pain Q & A
What is joint pain?
Joint pain can affect one, several, or all of the approximately 360 joints in your body. These joints form where two or more bones meet. The bones, held together by ligaments and supported by cartilage, tendons, and muscles, enable you to bend, twist, and rotate your body.
Some joints are highly mobile, like your shoulder, while others, such as the sacroiliac joints in your pelvis, move very little. Some joints are large, like the hips and knees, whereas there are many tiny joints in your hands and feet.
All of these joints have a lot of work to do every day, supporting your weight, stabilizing your body, and enabling you to perform activities ranging from running and jumping to writing and typing. Joint pain occurs when joints suffer acute damage or overuse or develop chronic degenerative or inflammatory diseases.
What are the causes of joint pain?
Acute joint pain is often caused by injuries like ligament sprains, tendon strains, or ruptures of these connective tissues. Cartilage tears, fractures, and dislocations can also lead to acute joint pain. Overuse injuries develop gradually, as continual friction and irritation result in inflammation, causing conditions such as bursitis and tendinitis.
Chronic joint pain is most commonly caused by arthritis. This is not a single condition but a collection of around 100 disorders affecting the joints. Osteoarthritis is the most common type, developing when years of joint use wear down the cartilage that protects your bones.
Rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis are autoimmune disorders, which occur when your immune system mistakenly attacks healthy cells in your joints. Gout, which usually affects the feet, is caused by uric acid crystals forming in the joints due to excess uric acid in the blood.
How is joint pain treated?
Applying ice or heat to affected joints may provide temporary relief, as can over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medications. However, if your joint pain is severe or persistent, seeking medical attention is important to prevent worsening.
Dr. Malik has extensive experience helping patients with joint pain. Treatments offered at Texas Pain & Orthopedics include:
- Physical therapy
- Activity modification
- Use of a brace or splint
- Medication
- Stem cell therapy
- Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections
- Steroid joint injections
- Viscosupplementation (injections of hyaluronic acid)
- Nerve blocks
- Radiofrequency ablation
- Peripheral nerve stimulation
If you are overweight or obese, medically supervised weight loss may also significantly improve joint pain.
To benefit from Dr. Malik’s expertise in treating joint pain, call Texas Pain & Orthopedics today or book an appointment online.
