Guide To Symptoms Of Enthesopathy
The human body is made up of the musculoskeletal system, which provides individuals with support, form, stability, and aids in body movement. The system comprises of muscles, skeleton, tendons, cartilage, joints, ligaments, and other connective tissues that attach organs. Each of the components that make up the musculoskeletal system play a significant role in the human body. The muscles keep bones in place, while the bones provide stability. Ligaments connect bones while tendons connect bones to muscles. Cartilage provides cushion at the bone end thus reducing wear and tear. The region where tendons and cartilages join to bones is known as enthesis.
Just like any other system in the body, the musculoskeletal system can be affected by diseases and disorders, which reduces their overall effectiveness. Enthesopathy (inflammation of enthesis) is among the common conditions that affect the musculoskeletal system. It can occur due to overuse from repetitive movements, injury, autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, and also due to the genetic makeup of an individual. Learn about the symptoms of enthesopathy now.
Swelling Around Affected Area
One of the most common symptoms of enthesopathy is swelling around the affected area. Joint swelling can occur due to two main reasons. The first reason could be due to the inflammation of the lining of the joint, known as synovium. Secondly, inflammation can occur when synovial fluid increases in volume. Every joint in the body contain a sac filled with a fluid that lubricates them. Without this fluid, the bones can easily grind on each other causing heavy wear and tear. When there is a blow to a joint or when an infection finds its way in a joint, it can cause excess production of these fluids, resulting in swelling.
Swelling can also occur when inflammatory cells and blood find their way in the joints. The inflammatory cells can include small proteins released into the soft tissues around the joints. The inflammatory materials can cause blood to collect in a joint resulting in swelling. Inflammation can affect one joint or even multiple joints at a go.
Joint Stiffness
Joint stiffness is a common condition that mostly comes with age. Many individuals experience stiffness on the joints after sitting or lying down for extended periods. Sitting or lying down for several hours may reduce the fluid on the joints, which makes it hard for an individual to move joints when they wake up. For some individuals, they experience mild discomfort that vanishes after moving, and for others, the stiffness can be severe, which impacts an individual's ability to move. Age, however, is not the only cause of joint stiffness. Other factors that can cause stiffness include arthritis, obesity, diet, and bursitis. The stiffness mainly occurs due to the inflammation of the synovium, a lining of the joint.
During diagnosis, doctors often look at the subtle details to determine the cause of joint stiffness. For instance, the stiffness that occurs after sitting for several hours is associated with osteoarthritis. Staying still and walking away slowly can help relieve stiffness. Joint stiffness that lasts more than an hour can be a sign of chronic arthritis. Stiffness that becomes worse with time may be caused by other factors other than inflammation.
Pain Around Affected Tendon Or Ligament
Nociceptors, which are also known as pain receptors, refer to free nerve endings found in almost every part of the body including the muscles, skin, bones, joints, and internal organs. These receptors are responsible for detecting and transmitting harmful (pain) stimuli to the nervous system and the brain. The information being transmitted by pain receptors is usually complex and may include details such as the location and intensity of the stimuli.
Pain in the joints mostly originates from the free nerve endings on the synovium, bone, tendons, ligaments, joint capsule, and the surrounding muscles. Over time, the protective sheath covering the joints (cartilage) becomes worn out. As a result, stress and pressure amass in the surrounding structures, leading to friction and inflammation. As the body tries to make new cartilage, fluids gradually fill the void. The wear and tear on the cartilage also trigger the release of inflammatory materials in the joint. The increased damage on the cartilage causes the individual to experience pain around affected tendon or ligament. The intensity of the pain on the affected joint is an indicator of the extent of damage to that joint.
Warmth In Affected Joint
As highlighted earlier, inflammation is the body's natural mechanism to respond to damage in the body. Inflammation aims at removing the pathogens or particles causing harm to the body and heal damage. Inflammation includes a feeling of warmth in the affected joint, redness, loss of function, and pain.
Firstly, when there is damage to any joint, the body tries to collect as much blood as possible in the affected area. The reason for taking blood in the affected joint is because it contains numerous substances that can help in fighting the cause and repairing the damage. These substances include immune cells and chemicals that can aid in blood clotting. The blood vessels in the affected joint dilate, allowing larger substances such as blood cells and proteins to get into the affected area. The increased blood flow in the joint is the reason the affected joint becomes hotter than the surrounding areas.
Symptoms Of Related Conditions
Enthesopathy can affect any joint in the body, but it is common in the spine, heel, elbow, hip, and knee. Apart from enthesopathy, a host of other conditions can produce localized pain in the joints. Therefore, doctors may look out for symptoms of related conditions to diagnose enthesopathy. Some conditions that may produce similar symptoms as enthesopathy include bruises, strains and sprains, overuse injuries affecting tendons, bone injuries and fractures, and medical conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and gout.
Some of the symptoms linked with these conditions include swelling, warmth, pain, and sometimes blood clots in the veins surrounding the affected joint. Considering that many conditions may produce similar symptoms with enthesopathy, individuals with joint pain should not self-diagnose.