Fatigue pain

The cause of occurring Fatigue pain is mostly wear and tear on the affected joints. Obesity, athletic or professional overload often trigger it. Prevention can delay wear and tear; appropriate treatment can relieve it satisfactorily over months or even years - depending on the current state of wear.

What is fatigue pain?

The cause of fatigue pain is usually wear and tear on the affected joints. Obesity, athletic or professional overload often trigger it.

Medicine understands pain from fatigue to be occasional or permanent joint pain. These are perceived by those affected as dull or oppressive. As a result of this pain, performance at work or in private life is significantly reduced.

Depending on the focus of pain, fatigue pain radiates from the sacrum area into the groin or to the leg. If the pain occurs in the joints of the arms or legs, it radiates to the fingers, feet or trunk. Fatigue pain has its origin in the heavily stressed parts of the skeleton (cervical and back vertebrae, joints of the arm and leg).

Gynecological irritation in the pelvic and spinal column area occasionally causes irritation of the roots of the spinal nerves and thus pain from fatigue outside the affected body regions. If pain from fatigue occurs permanently - i.e. chronically - it is diagnosed as joint wear. A well-known example of chronic fatigue pain is tennis elbow, a pain in the forearm and wrists.

causes

Congenital or acquired misalignments of the joints are a possible cause of fatigue pain. What is striking here is that this dull and oppressive sensation is not age-related, but occurs early and gradually worsens.

When wear and tear is the cause of the pain caused by fatigue, poor posture and physical strain play a role. Many of those affected suffer from work-related pain in the joint area that is stressed professionally by forced bad posture and constant excessive strain. Sports overload also promotes wear and tear if a certain joint, sometimes several in combination, is permanently exposed to the same load.

If overweight is added to the strain, this increases the pain of fatigue. If the complaints were acquired for professional or sporting reasons, then a chronic pain state occurs later due to age. In this case, the first signs of the effects become noticeable between the ages of 40 and 50.

You can find your medication here

➔ Medicines for joint pain

Diseases with this symptom

• Tennis elbow

• arthrosis

• Sports injuries

Diagnosis & course of disease

For a reliable diagnosis of pain from fatigue, the attending physician first clarifies several questions:

• Are there any cases of chronic fatigue pain in the family?

• How does the person feel the pain?

• When did you first begin to show signs of tiredness pain, albeit slight ones?

• Do the symptoms remain stress-dependent or do they occur all the time?

With this short list of questions, it can be safely determined whether it is inherited or acquired fatigue pain.

If left untreated, the symptoms worsen up to functional impairment of the affected joints (walking, grasping, moving). If the cause of the pain caused by fatigue is identified early on, mechanical aids such as bandages or walking aids temporarily relieve the most painful areas of wear and tear.

Complications

Fatigue pain carries various risks. If the symptoms persist over a longer period of time, there is a risk that chronic pain will develop and further complications will occur as a result. Those affected often resort to painkillers out of fear of the pain, which can lead to drug addiction. Normally, the side effects of the respective medication harbor most of the dangers and lead to tiredness, listlessness and often also to gastrointestinal disorders.

Pain patients often suffer from psychological complaints during the illness phase, accompanied by frustration and conflicts, since the pain caused by fatigue can often no longer be completely cured. The constant pain can trigger depressive moods and fears in those affected, accompanied by other complaints. This "pain career" has to be treated with comprehensive pain therapy. Fatigue pain in the joints significantly restricts performance in private or at work and leads to further complaints as the disease progresses: joint wear, an enlargement of the pain center and an intensification of the pain.

Since those affected often move unnaturally in order to avoid pain, further misalignments and associated pain in other limbs can also occur. If overweight is added to the symptoms, the pressure on the already stressed joints increases. The pain often persists as a chronic pain condition with increasing age.

When should you go to the doctor?

Fatigue pain is pain caused by wear and tear. The joints of the knees, hips and shoulders are particularly affected by signs of wear and tear. They not only hurt at the point of wear, but also radiate further through the legs and arms or into the groin area. Because these pains are based on joint fatigue and are also reminiscent of overtired muscles, they are referred to as fatigue pain.

Apart from symptoms that quickly recede and resemble fatigue pain as a result of a short-term extraordinary physical exertion, people with fatigue pain should consult a doctor. This is because fatigue pain is not based on a reversible physical fatigue phenomenon. The joint wear is to be equated here with joint wear, also known as osteoarthritis. This is where the specialist is needed: an orthopedic surgeon or even a surgeon.

The earliest possible cause detection and medical treatment of fatigue pain helps to alleviate or even stop the degeneration process. The main causes of fatigue pain are exercise-related overload and obesity. Medical therapy for fatigue pain includes, among other things, a targeted sports program. It strengthens the surrounding muscles of the overstrained joints and puts an end to the relieving posture that many patients with fatigue pain take, but which are unfavorable for the course of the disease. In addition, those suffering from fatigue pain receive nutritional recommendations from the doctor.

With their expert treatment of fatigue pain, doctors can often help prevent impending disability, including early retirement.

Doctors & therapists in your area

Treatment & Therapy

Home remedies ↵ for joint
pain Due to its nature as a sign of wear and tear, pain from fatigue can only be alleviated, but not permanently cured. Early diagnosis and targeted treatment are one way of significantly delaying the course of the disease.

Movement therapies, bandages and posture training keep wear and tear on for months or even years. If the cause is sporty, the sport does not necessarily have to be given up completely. Rather, appropriate, posture-friendly movement supports the strengthening of the muscles around the affected joint. This also contributes to long-term relief from the pain of fatigue.

Since the type of pain is wear-related, surgery must be considered in the long term. As soon as further treatment options no longer bring satisfactory relief, an orthopedic surgeon determines the extent to which a joint replacement is possible. The age and general physical condition of those affected are decisive for the chances of success. The medical principle applies: the more advanced the pain from fatigue is associated with wear and tear of the joint, the more difficult it is to achieve an improvement in symptoms through surgical replacement.

When an artificial joint is inserted, worn joint parts (ball and socket) are replaced with materials made from medical materials. This significantly improves the quality of life of those affected, but then results in less strength in the affected areas. In many cases, this improves again through systematic training tailored to the pain of fatigue.

You can find your medication here

➔ Medicines for joint pain

prevention

Already in childhood it is possible to prevent later pain from fatigue. A healthy lifestyle with sensible nutrition supports the long-term preservation of full joint health.

At the same time, this prevents possible overweight and thus constant stress on the joints. Likewise, a healthy posture and mindfulness when dealing with loads on all joints mean that they will wear out less for many decades. In the early stages, pain from fatigue occurs only occasionally.

Swimming in water at body temperature, for example, helps relieve stressed joints. In the case of sport-related causes, the sport does not have to be given up. It is sufficient to adjust the load on the joint to alleviate the pain by adapting sports movements.

You can do that yourself

Fatigue pain occurs when the joints and muscles are unaccustomed to or subjected to high loads. Often they are the harbingers of wear and tear. Instead of following the first impulse and indulging in complete rest, regular exercise is one of the best therapies. In the case of fatigue pain caused by osteoarthritis, reducing excess weight and changing your diet to a fresh, vitamin-rich mixed diet will help. The disease has often developed as a result of obesity and lack of exercise.

Even weak muscles cause pain when exercised. That is why it is important to promote muscle building. No extreme activities are necessary for this. It is enough to do light endurance sports. Cycling, swimming and moderate endurance run are extremely useful. Warmth has also been shown to be effective. Heat therapy can be done through physiotherapy, but can also be done at home, for example with fango packs or infrared light. The pharmacy has prepared fango packs, which are simply heated in the microwave and placed on the relevant part of the body. Heat patches that generate heat on their own are also suitable. The higher temperatures promote blood circulation and let inflammation subside.

Elevating the legs in back pain caused by overload also brings relief. Anyone who has to carry out one-sided activities at work should at least provide balance in their free time and keep their whole body moving.