Your job can be hard work. Depending on what you do, you could be lifting heavy objects, making repetitive motions, twisting, turning, and moving all day long. The muscles, joints, and nerves in your body can take a beating, but it’s essential to take care of them before the problems become severe. Consider these warning signs to determine when to schedule an appointment with an orthopedic doctor.
Shoulder Pain
Pain in the shoulders that increases at night and gets worse with movement should be examined by an orthopedic doctor. These symptoms are often combined with tenderness around a joint and can signify tendonitis. This condition, which occurs due to overuse or injury, can display the same symptoms in the elbow, heel, and wrist. Tendons join the muscles of the bones in the body. If they become injured, overworked, or lose elasticity during aging, they can cause the tendon to swell and become inflamed.
Trouble Climbing Stairs
Over time, joints in the knees and hips naturally deteriorate, but sometimes they become too painful to function. Consider joint replacement surgery if you have trouble walking, climbing stairs, or getting out of chairs. Chronic pain that lasts more than six months and affects your daily life is a sign that your joints may be damaged. Reasons for joint replacement include past injuries and years of constant use.
Tingling or Numb Hands
You may have carpal tunnel syndrome if you commonly drop things or have a tingling in your thumb, index, or middle finger. The nerve that runs from your forearm to your wrist travels through a “tunnel” in your wrist and gives the sensation to your thumb and all of your fingers except your pinky. Carpal tunnel syndrome can be caused by several things, including a previous wrist fracture or working with tools or machinery that vibrate or require repetitive wrist flexing.
Pain from Repetitive Motions
Occupations that require movement in a repetitive motion often create stress injuries in the muscles, tendons, and nerves. Machines that produce vibrations, constantly awkward positions, and forceful exertions also can cause stress injuries. This condition can cause pain and uncomfortable feelings, especially in the upper body.
Painful Joints
Persistent or chronic joint pain is a sign that something is wrong. The term “chronic” means the pain lasts three to six months or never goes away. This pain can be associated with inflammation or swelling around the joints, but it can also be a sign that the bones of the joints are rubbing together. All of these symptoms can be a sign of arthritis.
Arthritis is more prevalent in women than men, and the risk of developing arthritis increases with age. However, people as young as 20 can develop arthritis depending on their risk factors. Excess weight, previous joint injuries, and repeated bending of individual joints due to an occupation or everyday task can also increase your chances of arthritis.
Twisted Ankles
Walking on uneven ground or stepping on an object can often cause you to roll or twist your ankle. Pain outside the ankle, swelling, and bruising are typical signs of a tangled or sprained ankle. Sprains are common in people who are on the move during the day. Some people are predisposed to spraining their ankles due to their posture or how their feet are turned. Past ankle sprains are also a risk factor for injuring your ankle again.
Swollen Wrist
If you have ever fallen and landed on your hand, the chances are your wrist became swollen and bruised. More than likely, you had a sprained wrist. A sprain is stretching the ligaments that connect your bones to each other. Pulling or possibly even tearing these ligaments causes pain and loss of mobility in your wrist.
Swollen Joints
Swollen, tender, warm, or stiff joints can signify bursitis. This condition is caused by increased activity level, overuse, or excess weight. A bursa is a fluid-filled sac that protects the muscles, tendons, and bones from rubbing against each other. Bursitis is the swelling of these sacs. It often happens in the shoulders, knees, elbows, feet, and hips.
Worsening Injury
An injury from an accident, like a fall or significant collision, takes time to heal, but if the pain and swelling aren’t going away on their own, you might have a fracture. A fracture is a crack or break in a bone. They often happen to the arms, hips, spine, and legs. Children break their arms more than adults because they attempt to catch themselves when they fall. People most at risk for fractures are under the age of 20 or over 65.
Signs of a fracture include swelling or bruising over an injury to a bone, pain that gets worse with movement or pressure, and a loss of function of the injured body part.
Weak, Stiff and Bruised Muscles
If you have had an injury and are now experiencing swelling, pain, and a bluish discoloration around the wound, you may have a muscle contusion. These injuries happen when a muscle is hit with a blunt object, or your body is slammed into a hard thing. The muscle fibers are crushed, but the skin is not broken. Sometimes, blood can pool under the skin creating a lump over the injury.
If you are experiencing any of these problems, schedule an appointment with Docplus, the best Orthopedics doctor in Bangalore and Hyderabad, today!
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