The cause of fatigue pain that occurs is usually wear and tear of the affected joints. Overweight, sports or occupational overload often trigger it. Prevention can delay wear and tear, and appropriate treatment can alleviate it satisfactorily for months or even years, depending on the current state of wear.
What is fatigue pain?
The cause of fatigue pain that occurs is usually wear and tear on the affected joints. Overweight, sports or occupational overload often trigger it. By fatigue pain, medicine understands occasionally or permanently occurring joint pain. These are felt by the affected persons as dull or pressing. As a result of this pain, performance at work or in private life is significantly limited. Depending on the source of the pain, fatigue pain radiates from the sacrum area to the groin or leg. If the pain occurs in the joints of the arms or legs, it radiates to the fingers, feet or trunk. Fatigue pain originates in the heavily loaded parts of the skeleton (cervical and dorsal vertebrae, joints of the arm and leg). Gynecological irritation conditions in the pelvic and spinal regions occasionally trigger irritation of the roots of the spinal nerves and thus fatigue pain outside affected regions of the body. If fatigue pain occurs permanently – that is, chronically – it is diagnosed as joint wear and tear. A well-known example of chronic fatigue pain is tennis elbow, a pain of the forearm and wrist joints.
Causes
Congenital or acquired deformities of the joints are a possible cause of fatigue pain. What is striking here is that that dull and pressing sensation is not age-related, but occurs early on and gradually worsens. In the case of wear and tear as the cause of fatigue pain, incorrect posture and physical strain play a role. For example, many of those affected suffer from occupational pain in the area of the joint that is subjected to forced poor posture and constant overload. Sporting overload also promotes wear and tear, provided that a particular joint, sometimes several in combination, is permanently subjected to the same degree of stress. If overweight is added to the strain, this intensifies the pain of fatigue. If the complaints were acquired from occupational or athletic causes, then a chronic pain condition occurs later due to age. In this case, the first signs of the effects become noticeable between the ages of 40 and 50.
Diseases with this symptom
- Tennis Elbow
- Osteoarthritis
- Sports injuries
Diagnosis and course of the disease
For a reliable diagnosis of fatigue pain, the attending physician first clarifies several questions:
- Are there any cases of chronic fatigue pain in the family?
- How does the affected person experience the pain?
- When did signs of fatigue pain, even if mild, first appear?
- Do the symptoms remain load-dependent, or do they occur constantly?
With this short list of questions can be safely delineated whether it is an inherited or acquired fatigue pain. If left untreated, the discomfort intensifies up to the functional limitation of affected joints (walking, gripping, moving). If the cause of fatigue pain is identified early, mechanical aids such as bandages or walking aids temporarily relieve the most painful areas of wear.
Complications
Fatigue pain carries several risks. If the discomfort occurs over a long period of time, there is a risk that chronic pain will develop and that further complications will occur as a result. Those affected often turn to painkillers out of fear of the pain, from which a drug dependency can develop. Normally, the side effects of the respective drugs are the most dangerous and lead to fatigue, listlessness and often to gastrointestinal disorders. Pain patients often suffer from psychological discomfort during the disease phase, accompanied by frustration and conflict, since the fatigue pain often can no longer be fully cured. The constant pain can trigger depressive moods and anxiety in those affected, accompanied by other complaints.This “pain career” must be treated by comprehensive pain therapy. Fatigue pain in the joints significantly limits performance in private life or at work and leads to further complaints as the disease progresses: Joint wear and tear, an enlargement of the pain center, and an intensification of pain. Since sufferers often move unnaturally to avoid pain, this can lead to further deformities and associated fatigue pain in other limbs. If the symptoms are compounded by excess weight, the pressure on the joints, which are already under strain, increases. The pain often persists as a chronic pain condition as the affected person ages.
When should you see a doctor?
Fatigue pain is pain caused by wear and tear. The joints of the knees, hips and shoulders are particularly often affected by wear and tear. They not only hurt at the point of wear, but radiate further down the legs and arms or into the groin area. Because this pain is due to joint fatigue and is also reminiscent of overtired muscles, it is referred to as fatigue pain. Apart from rapidly receding symptoms resembling fatigue pain caused by short-term extraordinary physical exertion, persons with fatigue pain should consult a physician. This is because fatigue pain is not based on a physical fatigue symptom that can be reversed. In this case, joint wear is equivalent to joint degeneration, also known as osteoarthritis. This is where the specialist is needed: an orthopedist or even a surgeon. Identifying the cause of fatigue pain as early as possible and treating it medically helps to mitigate or even stop the degeneration process. The main causes of fatigue pain are motion-related overuse and obesity. A medical therapy for fatigue pain includes, among other things, a targeted sports program. It strengthens the surrounding muscles of the overstrained joints and puts an end to the protective posture adopted by many patients with fatigue pain, which is unfavorable for the course of the disease. In addition, those suffering from fatigue pain receive nutritional recommendations from the doctor. With their expert treatment of fatigue pain, physicians can also often help avoid the threat of disability, including early retirement.
Treatment and therapy
Due to its nature as a symptom of wear and tear, fatigue pain can only be alleviated, but not permanently cured. Early diagnosis and targeted treatment are one way to significantly delay the progression of the disease. Movement therapies, bandages and posture training satisfactorily halt the wear and tear for months or even years. In the case of sports-related causes, sports do not necessarily have to be completely abandoned. Rather, appropriate postural exercise helps strengthen the muscles around the affected joint. This also contributes to long-term relief of fatigue pain. Because the type of pain is wear-related, surgery must be considered in the long term. Once other treatment options no longer provide satisfactory relief, an orthopedic surgeon determines the extent to which joint replacement is an option. Decisive for the chances of success are the age and the general physical condition of the affected person. The medical principle applies: the more advanced the fatigue pain is associated with wear and tear of the joint, the more difficult it is to achieve an improvement of the symptoms through surgical replacement. When an artificial joint is inserted, worn joint parts (ball and socket) are replaced with materials made from medical grade materials. This significantly improves the quality of life of affected patients, but subsequently requires less force in the affected areas. Systematic training tailored to fatigue pain improves this again in many cases.
Prevention
Already in childhood it is possible to prevent a later fatigue pain. Thus, a healthy lifestyle with a sensible diet supports the long preservation of full joint health. At the same time, this prevents possible overweight and thus permanent stress on the joints. Likewise, a healthy posture and mindfulness when dealing with stresses on all joints mean that they will wear less for many decades.In the early stages, fatigue pain occurs only occasionally. Here, for example, swimming in body-warm water helps to provide relief for the stressed joints. In the case of sport-related causes, the type of sport does not have to be abandoned. It is enough to adjust the joint load to alleviate the pain through sports movement adjustment.
Here’s what you can do yourself
Fatigue pains occur when joints and muscles are subjected to unaccustomed or high stress. They are often the harbingers of wear and tear. Instead of following the first impulse and getting complete rest, regular exercise is one of the best therapies. For fatigue pains caused by osteoarthritis, reducing excess weight and changing the diet to a fresh, vitamin-rich mixed diet already help. The disease has often developed as a result of obesity and lack of exercise. Weak muscles also produce pain during exertion. Therefore, it is important to promote muscle development. No extreme activities are necessary for this. It is already enough to do light endurance sports. Cycling, swimming and moderate endurance running are extremely useful. Heat has also been shown to be effective. Heat therapy can be provided by physiotherapy, but can also be done at home, for example with mud packs or infrared light. Pharmacies carry prepared mud packs that are simply warmed in a microwave and applied to the body part in question. Heat patches that generate heat on their own are also suitable. The higher temperatures promote blood circulation and allow inflammation to subside. Elevating the legs in the case of back pain caused by overwork also brings relief. Those who have to perform one-sided activities at work should at least provide compensation in their free time and keep their whole body moving.
