Strain Pain: Causes, Treatment & Help

The human body is exposed to permanent stresses every day. These are due to the environment on the one hand, and mobility on the other. However, if the loads are above average, and the anatomy of the individual is not sufficient to compensate for the stress, this can lead to strain pain or movement pain.

What is strain pain?

Strain pain can be caused by a variety of factors. The most common cause is that the joints rub against each other too much during overexertion. Pain on movement must be conceptually distinguished from pain on exertion. While strain pain can develop with increasing strain that is above the average level, movement pain can occur with even minor deviations. A uniform definition of this form of pain is therefore difficult, since the causes can be manifold. In this respect, a delimitation of the individual triggers to each other takes place at this point. The essential commonality, however, is that the stress pain occurs primarily when the affected person has overexerted himself by increasing his performance workload. Accordingly, the exertion was so high that it deviated from normal conditions. In contrast, the movement pain can already occur, provided that even average loads have acted on the body.

Causes

Exercise pain can be caused by a variety of factors. The most common cause is that the joints rub against each other too much during overexertion. This can also occur when the person has to carry a heavy load, so that the strain pain is caused by the additional load rather than the actual motor activity. This can be the case, for example, when furniture has to be carried over several floors during a move. In any case, the condition is at least favored by the lifting. The pain is already noticeable after some time, and the intensity can be much greater, insofar as the cartilage is already affected. In addition, inflammations in the joints can trigger the stress pain. Furthermore, the disease does not only occur due to overexertion. Rather, other diseases can also be the cause of strain pain. These include, above all, metabolic diseases, neurological diseases or tumors on the bones. In addition, a frequent cause of pain is rheumatism, since the joints in this clinical picture are preloaded to an increased extent.

Diseases with this symptom

  • Nervous diseases
  • Carpal tunnel syndrome
  • Chondropathy
  • Ocular migraine
  • Ear infection
  • Sensitivity to noise
  • Osteoarthritis
  • Arthritis
  • Rheumatism
  • Gout
  • Heart muscle inflammation
  • Obesity
  • Tendonitis
  • Bone cancer
  • Metabolic disorder
  • Arterial occlusive disease
  • Leg ulcer
  • ISG syndrome

Diagnosis and course

Strain pain occurs locally in different parts of the body. Likewise, patients perceive the intensity of the pain differently. It is therefore all the more important for the diagnostic procedure that the course of the pain is described in detail to the physician by the affected person. In some cases, it is merely a so-called start-up pain, which can occur when the joints come to rest after a strenuous phase. Initially, the suffering is particularly severe, although the symptoms diminish as the joints and muscular system are moved through. If the symptoms persist, the physician first performs a local examination. This is limited to the region described by the patient. In particular, in order to diagnose underlying diseases for the strain pain, the physician will regularly resort to imaging or ultrasound procedures to examine the joints and bones. In this way, the treating physician can determine whether the pain is a temporary symptom or whether there is an underlying chronic condition that may be due to concomitant diseases.

Complications

Exertional pain can be completely eliminated with well-tolerated pain medications.However, many physicians do not do this to prevent the common complication of the patient thinking he is healthy again due to the absence of pain and resuming normal weight bearing on the joint. Instead, they adjust the pain medication so that, although he is almost pain-free in everyday life, he feels more pain when he strains, allowing him to assess how far he can go with the strain. This is because if an injury that has not yet healed completely is put under strain again too quickly, there is a risk of the injury getting worse and it can return to its old state. If painkillers are no longer necessary because the underlying injury has almost healed, however, pain may still be felt if the strain is increased. The correct thing to do then would be to stop the strain immediately, as this is a warning signal from the body. However, it is precisely this type of pain that is often not taken seriously and the load is not terminated, even if strain pain occurs. This can also cause the original injury to worsen again. If you don’t go to the doctor immediately when you experience noticeable strain pain, you risk a very similar worsening of the condition. The injury may need splinting, immobilization or even surgery – if that doesn’t happen, it can trigger chronic exercise pain.

When should you see a doctor?

If a body is constantly subjected to stresses that its anatomy cannot handle, stress pain will inevitably occur. Very often, strain pain occurs at joints. Then usually either the load was too high in general or the person overworked their joints. A classic trigger for strain pain is moving house. It is not uncommon for sufferers to have overestimated their strength beforehand. In addition to overuse situations, metabolic diseases, bone tumors, rheumatism and neurological diseases can also cause exertion pain. An additional complicating factor in the case of exertion pain is that patients perceive and reproduce the intensity of the pain extremely subjectively. In the case of exertion pain, it is recommended that the patient first see his or her family doctor. He can assess his patient well. For further clarification of the complaints, he can consult specialists such as an orthopedist or neurologist and possibly a surgeon. Physiotherapeutic applications and pain therapy also have a positive effect on the course of treatment. Special heat and cold treatments with a circulation-enhancing effect have also proven effective for stress pain. Stress pain can also be the cause of worn joint cartilage. In such a case, a cartilage transplant specialist is needed. Acupuncture has also proven helpful. As part of his therapy, the patient should also receive tips on how to avoid stress pain in the future.

Treatment and therapy

Strain pain is either a warning sign that the patient has overstressed his body or an indication of a manifested disease in the organism. If the pain is temporary, it is usually treated with drug therapy. In particular, these are intended to relieve the pain and remove the inflammation from the body. The therapy should enable the affected person to move his joints and muscles naturally, so that they can loosen up. If, on the other hand, the doctor diagnoses chronic exertional pain, multimodal treatment is regularly initiated. This is a special pain therapy that is administered either by tablets or infusions. Due to medical progress, the chances of success are quite good even in chronic individual cases. In addition, in both cases it makes sense to combine pain therapy with physiotherapy. The physiotherapist uses special techniques to move the joints and muscles. This trains the musculoskeletal system. In severe cases, for example if the pain from strain is due to wear and tear of the joint cartilage, a specialist will perform a cartilage transplant to replace the cartilage cells. What therapy is ultimately initiated also depends on where the pain is localized. If the suffering has been triggered by another disease, exemplified by a bone fracture or a twisting of the joint apparatus, special acupuncture therapies or artificial joints have proven effective. In addition to acupuncture, special massages can also help to reduce pain.This also applies to treatment with heat and cold, as this promotes blood circulation in the body.

Outlook and prognosis

In many cases, the strain pains disappear again on their own if they are only temporary pains. They are caused by a short-term high load and also disappear again when this load no longer takes place. However, the strain pain can also occur as a result of long and heavy work. Usually, the joints and muscles can be treated with physiotherapy. In any case, the patient must no longer place a heavy load on the affected parts of the body and must take it easy on them. In most cases, this results in a positive course of the disease, which does not lead to any further complications. Only rarely are surgical interventions necessary to treat the strain pain. Without treatment, the strain pain will usually not disappear. Muscles and joints can be severely damaged, leading to inflammation and other complications. Strain pain can also cause psychological problems. Often the patient feels tired, sick and overworked. Physical therapy is successful in many cases and helps the sufferer combat the strain pain. However, heavy activity may no longer be performed if the strain pain is severe, so the workplace may not be able to be visited.

Prevention

The best prophylaxis against exertion pain is not to overload the body or adopt incorrect postures. In this respect, the disease can be ideally prevented with regular exercise as well as sports. This promotes blood circulation, which ultimately strengthens the body. In this way, signs of wear and tear can be reduced from the outset. Furthermore, especially through sports activities, the musculature is gently built up, so that stress pain can occur less frequently.

What you can do yourself

In the case of stress pain, it is usually not necessary to see a doctor. This pain occurs mainly when the body is exposed to constant stress and has no opportunity to rest. Joints, muscles and bones can then become painful. If the body is able to rest, the strain pain usually disappears after only a few days and does not recur. However, if the body cannot rest, the strain pain can also turn into inflammation and other problems that eventually need to be treated by a doctor. To avoid the strain pain, heavy work should not be done often or alone. The pain itself can be eliminated with the help of ointments and bandages. Painkillers should be avoided, as they damage the stomach relatively severely. If the strain pain is unbearable, a doctor must be consulted in any case. If the strain pain occurs due to work, the doctor may also declare the employee unfit for work in order to remedy the strain pain. Surgical intervention usually does not take place. Physical therapy or pain management often helps. Complications only occur if the strain pain is not treated in time. This is where secondary damage and further injury can occur.