Joint Pains

General joint pains can occur at any joint in the body, can be present all the way from the base of your skull (the atlanto-occipital joints or C1) right down through your neck, spine and limbs, all the way to your fingers and toes. Areas such as the wrists and ankles are common areas of joint injury and dysfunction.

Joint pains need to be carefully assessed so that the joints that are causing the discomfort can be located and treated, some joints can also become unstable as well as being uncomfortable; an unstable joint in the pelvis for example could give you problems walking and could interfere with your daily activities from running to bending down to do the gardening. When joints are injured they become inflamed, inflammation is the body’s natural healing process and a small bit of inflammation does just that; however if the pain is intensely sharp or it has been going on for an inordinate amount of time then you may have excess inflammation accumulating in and around the joint and it is this excess inflammation that can cause this pain and can potentially worsen the issue.

Generally ice is best to apply (as long as you cover the skin and only ice for 15 minutes at a time) but heat can also help in the recovery stages but should not be applied in the acute phase, if you are unsure then by all means just give us a ring and we will be happy to have a quick chat with you over the phone and advise you accordingly.