Joint Disorders

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Basics

• Summary
• Start Here
• Diagnosis and Tests
• Treatments and Therapies

Learn More

• Related Issues
• Specifics
• Genetics

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Research

• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

Resources

• Find an Expert

For You

• Children
• Teenagers
• Seniors
• Patient Handouts

Summary

A joint is where two or more bones come together, like the knee, hip, elbow, or shoulder. Joints can be damaged by many types of injuries or diseases, including

• Arthritis - inflammation of a joint. It causes pain, stiffness, and swelling. Over time, the joint can become severely damaged.
• Bursitis - inflammation of a fluid-filled sac that cushions the joint
• Dislocations - injuries that force the ends of the bones out of position

Treatment of joint problems depends on the cause. If you have a sports injury, treatment often begins with the RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation) method to relieve pain, reduce swelling, and speed healing. Other possible treatments include pain relievers, keeping the injured area from moving, rehabilitation, and sometimes surgery. For arthritis, injuries, or other diseases, you may need joint replacement surgery to remove the damaged joint and put in a new one.

NIH: National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases

Start Here

• Healthy Joints Matter (National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases)
• Healthy Movements: Your Body's Mechanics (National Institutes of Health)

Diagnosis and Tests

• Arthrography (American College of Radiology, Radiological Society of North America) Also in Spanish
• Bone X-Ray (Radiography) (American College of Radiology, Radiological Society of North America) Also in Spanish
• Joint Aspiration (Arthrocentesis) (Nemours Foundation)
• MRI of the Musculoskeletal System (American College of Radiology, Radiological Society of North America) Also in Spanish
• Synovial Fluid Analysis (American Association for Clinical Chemistry)

Treatments and Therapies

• Joint and Soft Tissue Injections (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish
• Joint Injection/Aspiration (American College of Rheumatology) Also in Spanish
• Joint Replacement Surgery: Health Information Basics for You and Your Family (National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases) Also in Spanish
• What You Can Expect with a Cortisone Shot (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish

Related Issues

• Bone and Joint Problems Associated with Diabetes (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Hypothyroidism: Does It Cause Joint Pain? (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
• Knuckle Cracking (Johns Hopkins Medicine)
• Overuse Injury: How to Prevent Training Injuries (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish

Specifics

• Extra-Abdominal Desmoid Tumors (Aggressive Fibromatoses) (American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons)
• Joint Hypermobility: What Causes Loose Joints? (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
• Joint Infection (Beyond the Basics) (UpToDate)
• Osteochondritis Dissecans (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
• Sacroiliitis (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
• Synovial Chondromatosis (American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons)

Genetics

• Genetics Home Reference: distal arthrogryposis type 1 (National Library of Medicine)
• Genetics Home Reference: familial osteochondritis dissecans (National Library of Medicine)
• Genetics Home Reference: Kuskokwim syndrome (National Library of Medicine)
• Genetics Home Reference: progressive pseudorheumatoid dysplasia (National Library of Medicine)
• Genetics Home Reference: Sheldon-Hall syndrome (National Library of Medicine)
• Genetics Home Reference: trichorhinophalangeal syndrome type I (National Library of Medicine)

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Arthrography (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Arthroplasty (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Arthroscopy (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Joint Diseases (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Joint diseases: from connexins to gap junctions.
• Article: The timing of open surgical release of post-traumatic elbow stiffness:...
• Article: Do higher-volume hospitals provide better value in revision hip and...
• Joint Disorders -- see more articles

Find an Expert

• Arthritis Foundation Also in Spanish
• Arthritis Foundation: Local Office Directory (Arthritis Foundation)
• Find a Rheumatologist (American College of Rheumatology)
• National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases Also in Spanish

Children

• Healthy Joints Matter (National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases)

Teenagers

• Bones, Muscles, and Joints: The Musculoskeletal System (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Seniors

• Joint Problems (AGS Foundation for Health in Aging)

Patient Handouts

• Hypermobile joints (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Joint pain (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Joint swelling (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Joint x-ray (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Limited range of motion (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Steroid injections - tendon, bursa, joint (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish