Joint Pain? These 8 Conditions Could Be to Blame

Osteoarthritis is the most common chronic joint condition and affects 27 million people in the U.S. It occurs when when cartilage—which normally protects the joints—breaks down, causing the bones to rub directly against each other and triggering pain and swelling. Although osteoarthritis mostly affects older people, it can appear in those of all ages. Your risk is especially high if you are obese or have overused a joint (such as by playing a sport for many years).The knees, hips, lower back and neck, fingers, base of the thumb, and big toe are most often affected.

Activity can also aggravate symptoms:"If it gets worse the more you do and the more you’re up and down after activities of a day, that makes us think more of an osteoarthritis situation and not an inflammatory situation," says O’Dell. Exercise and over-the-counter pain relievers may help keep you moving.

Gout is an extremely painful form of arthritis—in fact, the pain is so acute that it can wake you up in the middle of the night. "It’s extraordinarily painful and debilitating," says O'Dell. Gout typically affects the big toe, and inaddition to causing pain, the toe can also become swollen and hot to the touch. This type of arthritis is caused by high levels of uric acid in the blood(uric acid is the byproduct of purines, which are found in foods like liver, turkey, beer, and red meat).Episodes can last three to 10 days and may be triggered by stress or alcohol. Being overweight also puts you at risk, and men are more likely to have the condition than women.

The good news? It's also "extremely treatable," O’Dell says. Avoiding purine-rich foods such as scallops, herring, and red meat may help, as cantaking medications to tame the condition.

Joint pain is one of many possible symptoms of the tick-borne illness Lyme disease. While the classic early sign of Lyme is a telltale "bull's-eye" rash, one of the later symptoms (usually appearing weeks or months after a tick bite) is arthritis and joint pain in the knees and other large joints. Usually only one or two joints are affected simultaneously, and episodes tend to become less frequent and less severe as time goes on. If you think you may have Lyme, it’s important to get an early diagnosis and treatment, as well as ongoing medical care.