Definition
With a swollen joint, various structures in the joint area may be swollen, such as ligaments, tendons or capsules. Often, a swollen joint is also caused by fluid retention in the joint cavity, which is called articular effusion. An effusion is usually caused by an injury or inflammation. Depending on the cause, the accumulated fluid can also be purulent (infectious cause) or bloody (mostly traumatic cause).
Causes
There are several possible causes for a swollen joint. On the one hand, it can be caused by overstraining the joint, which often occurs in the knee joint. Also an acute injury such as a torn meniscus or torn cruciate ligament usually leads to a swelling of the joint with accompanying joint effusion.
Swelling of the joint can also occur in osteoarthritis, which occurs frequently with increasing age and is caused by wear and tear of the cartilage. In addition to these clinical pictures, a bacterial or viral inflammation can also be a trigger for joint swelling, this is called arthritis. Bacterial inflammation can occur, for example, in the context of syphilis, tuberculosis or borreliosis, as well as as a consequence of a gastrointestinal infection or a urinary tract infection – typical pathogens are chlamydia and salmonella, in this context it is called reactive arthritis.
Systemic diseases such as psoriasis or inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis can also be accompanied by joint swelling. If several joints are swollen at the same time, this makes the physician first think of an illness from the rheumatic form circle. Many different clinical pictures belong to the rheumatic illness.
What they have in common is that the body produces antibodies that are directed against the body’s own structures and thus trigger an inflammation that damages the joints. Typical symptoms are morning stiffness, improvement in pain/mobility throughout the day, pain (as opposed to arthrosis), which is also present at rest, and are most pronounced in the morning. During menopause, women are often also affected by joint problems.
The complaints often move from one joint to the next, so that affected women often fear that they are suffering from rheumatism. The hormone progesterone is responsible for the joint complaints in the menopause. This hormone has its effect especially during pregnancy and is responsible for maintaining the pregnancy.
Another effect of progesterone is to loosen the connective tissue. During the menopause the levels of progesterone and estrogen drop drastically and opposing effects become apparent: In the case of the joints, this leads to a hardening of the synovial membrane. In the beginning, these hardenings are usually accompanied by pain and sometimes lead to poorer joint mobility. These joint complaints during menopause are sometimes accompanied by swelling of the affected joint. Of course, not all joint complaints/swelling in the menopause can be traced back to the menopause itself; typical causes can still be considered.
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