Activities that can cause joint pain and how to overcome them

Many daily activities that can unwittingly cause joint pain. The most common location for joint pain is the knee, ankle and around the shoulder. Learn how to care that you can do at home. Joint pain is caused due to an injury that affects the ligament tissue and tendons around the joint. Generally, joint pain causes pain in parts of the body that are injured, the severity and pain caused by joint pain varies from mild, moderate to severe.

Causes of Joint Pain

Various things can be a risk factor for joint pain, starting from unbalanced nutritional intake, excess body weight, increase in age, type of work, the influence of stress, to physical activities undertaken daily and the occurrence of injury can also affect the onset of joint pain complaints. The causes of joint pain itself are fairly diverse, but some physical activity can also cause joint pain such as:

• Stand for too long

Standing for too long can cause joint pain, the article, the body support will be given in a long time and affect the spaces between the joints, especially in the hip joints, knees and legs. If you have a job that requires standing almost all hours work, occasionally try to stretch your knees by bending your knees briefly alternately to minimize joint pain. Conversely, sitting or sleeping too long, can also trigger joint pain, due to the space between the joints that are not used to move or support the body's burden.

• Lifting heavy loads

Activities that lift weights that are too heavy can also cause joint pain in the back. In addition to lifting heavy loads, lifting or moving things in the wrong position can also trigger joint pain in the back. When moving items, be careful that back injuries can be avoided.

• Jump

Various situations and activities, sometimes requiring us to jump to reach a destination, this often overlooked thing, can actually cause joint pain and injury, if not careful in doing so.

• Excessive exercise

Exercise can indeed build muscle strength and maintain joint health but, if done excessively, exercise can also cause joint pain. Some sports are also suspected to trigger joint pain in certain body parts. Like running and basketball which makes the knee as a pedestal when jumping. In these two types of exercise, the risk for joint pain in the knees and ankles tends to be greater.

• Injury

Sprains caused by injury during exercise can also cause joint pain in injured body parts. Generally, sports that require repetitive muscle movements such as badminton, rowing, and golf are more at risk of spraining. Weight lifting and various types of exercise at a gym that are generally repetitive can also be a cause of injury and joint pain. Especially if done in the wrong way or footsteps, not done in stages, and without preceded by adequate heating.

Overcoming Joint Pain at Home

As an initial treatment for joint pain, you can do at home. You can try taking an action known as RICE namely:

• Rest

Resting and maintaining the affected joint, will provide recovery time for the joints, and reduce the pain it causes.

• Ice

Cold temperatures exposed through ice in areas experiencing joint pain, will help to divert pain and reduce swelling when there is joint tissue injury. You can wrap the ice in a soft cloth and compress it on the joint.

• Compression

Pressure on the joints can be done using elastic bandages, to help reduce swelling and maintain joint position. But make sure you don't wrap the bandage too tightly, so that blood circulation is maintained.

• Elevation

Place the part that has joint pain, higher than the body, for example by propping up a pillow on the leg or knee that has joint pain.

In addition, you can also take a warm bath, especially in the morning so that the body is more relaxed, and the pain that appears can be reduced. In addition to these simple treatments, you can also use topical creams or medications that can be applied to parts of the body that experience joint pain. For example, topical drugs that contain capsaicin. This medicine can divert joint pain, so it feels reduced. It's just that the content of capsaicin can cause discomfort in the form of a burning sensation on the body that is applied to the cream. Other topical medications that may be an option are those containing sodium diclofenac. This drug is classified as a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). In contrast to capsaicin, the diclofenac sodium content is able to overcome the problem of joint pain without causing burning sensation on the body part that is applied. This type of topical medication is known to be effective in joint pain in various areas of the body, such as knees, feet, ankles, elbows, wrists and hands. In addition to its benefits for reducing pain, the anti-inflammatory properties of sodium diclofenac can reduce the inflammatory reaction in the area applied. To avoid joint pain, it's a good idea to stretch your joints before and after or between activities, exercise regularly, avoiding various activities, and live a healthy lifestyle. If treatment at home is not able to cope with joint pain experienced, consult a doctor immediately. Especially if accompanied by other symptoms such as swelling, redness and pain when pressed or lasts more than two weeks even though it has been done at home treatment.