Why Does Joint Pain Occur in Fever?
Fever is one aspect of the body’s immune response. It is an increase in normal body temperature. Normally, the body temperature lies around 98.6 F. A rise to 100 F is usually considered a fever.
Fever is not a disease or medical condition in itself. Rather, it is a symptom. It is a physiological indicator that something is wrong within the body. Certain health conditions can cause symptoms like a fever and joint pain.
For a detailed explanation in this regard, read this article through.
Reasons for Joint Pain In Fever
The reason why you are having joint pain in fever depends on the root cause of your illness. Sometimes, fever and joint pain can both be symptoms of a condition.
For example, in chikungunya fever, joint pain occurs due to the behaviour of the virus and the activities of the immune system.
Behaviour of the Chikungunya virus: Our body has many joints. Chikungunya viruses enter the body and infect various parts in joints like cartilage, muscles, ligaments, tendons and bones. To be more precise, the viruses attach themselves to a special protein in the cells.
Immune Response: Because of viruses attached to healthy cells, the immune system mistakes such cells with pathogens or harmful substances. It then mistakenly attacks healthy cells in the joints. This attack (or immune response) helps eliminate the infection but also results in cellular damage and inflammation. Hence, you experience joint pain in Chikungunya.
Conditions That Cause Fever and Joint Pain
Other conditions apart from Chikungunya that can cause joint pain along with fever are as follows.
Viral Arthritis: Joint pain after the viral infection is called viral arthritis.
Rheumatic Fever: This is a condition that happens when scarlet fever isn’t properly treated. In other words, rheumatic fever is the aggravation of scarlet fever, which is also known as strep throat. This is an infection that is caused by streptococcus bacteria.
Reactive Arthritis: Sometimes, an infection in any part of the body but joints can also cause joint pain. This condition is known as reactive arthritis. In this condition, direct infection in the joint isn’t necessary. For example, a urinary or gastrointestinal infection can lead to reactive arthritis.
Septic Arthritis: It is a painful joint infection. Gems can infect the joints either through the bloodstream (because some parts of the body are already infected) or a penetrating injury. This form of arthritis is different from reactive arthritis. It develops only when the gems have directly infected the joint cavity, especially the lining of the joint or synovium.
The synovium is a part of the joint that secretes synovial fluid, or a type of lubricant. The synovium has very little capacity to protect itself from pathogens or harmful microorganisms like bacteria, viruses and fungi.
Comorbidity
A comorbidity is a medical term that refers to the situation of more than one health issue present in a person. If you already have any of the following conditions, even a mild fever or a common cold will leave you with increased joint pain.
Lupus: It is an autoimmune disease where the immune system attacks healthy cells and tissues within the body. Lupus doesn’t just affect joints but the skin, blood cells, kidneys and other body organs as well.
Rheumatoid Arthritis: It is another autoimmune disease that causes chronic joint pain. It results in joint stiffness and pain throughout the body. The joint inflammation usually flares up in the mornings or after long periods of inactivity.
Osteoarthritis: Degeneration or damage of the articular cartilage leads to a condition called osteoarthritis. Cartilage is found on bone ends in a joint. It makes a joint workable and mobile. So, damage to such cartilage leads to severe joint pain, stiffness and immobility (or physical disability).
Post-Traumatic Arthritis: An injury to the joint if not treated well can also give rise to arthritic conditions, i.e., pain, stiffness, tenderness, etc.
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: It is a complicated disease whose exact cause is unknown. Experts believe that various conditions might contribute to this syndrome. This condition causes joint and muscle pain along with other symptoms like chronic fatigue etc.
Other Complications
In some cases, several factors can together give rise to joint pain. For example, having a common cold along with overuse syndrome and sleep deficiency is a complicated situation. Joint pain is a common experience under this condition.
So, such complications might also be the reason for your joint pain while you have a fever.
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Whom to Consult for Joint Pain
An orthopedist is a medical specialist that treats musculoskeletal conditions. So, for joint pain, only consult an orthopedist or orthopedic doctor.
An orthopedic specialist can treat conditions like:
- Fractures
- Joint Dislocations
- Arthritis
- Tendinopathy
- Synovitis
- Strains and Sprains
- Joint Deformities
However, this list isn’t exhaustive. There are other joint and bone problems as well that an orthopedic doctor and surgeon can treat.
Diagnosis
An orthopedic doctor can primarily diagnose joint pain with the help of the following diagnostic options.
- X-Ray
- Ultrasound
- MRI
- CT Scan
If the doctor feels necessary, further tests can also be exhausted for the accuracy of the diagnosis. These tests might include:
- Blood Tests
- Biopsy
- Joint Fluid Analysis
Treatment
Joint pain can be treated easily after an accurate diagnosis. Various treatment options can be used for joint pain relief.
- Physiotherapy
- Medications
- Surgery like joint arthroplasty, internal fixation, etc.,
- Non-surgical treatment, i.e., immobilisation, reduction, etc.,
- Arthroscopy, i.e., ACL reconstruction, Partial Meniscectomy, Arthroscopic Synovectomy, etc.,
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Conclusion
Fever isn’t a health condition in itself. It is rather a symptom of another disease like Chikungunya, Malaria, Typhoid, etc. Fever is an aspect of our immune system in action.
Whenever there are harmful gems or substances within the body, our immune system has to eliminate them out of the body. It is done through immune responses.
Due to such responses or actions of the immune system, we experience fever or an increase in body temperature. There might be other symptoms like joint pain, stiffness, nausea, etc.
Don’t ignore joint pain. Chronic pain in joints could be due to a serious medical condition and not just a seasonal viral fever. For the best treatment, consult an orthopedic doctor.