Joint Pain (pain, redness swelling or stiffness in one or more joints)
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Emergent Care - Have you identified one or more of the following symptoms?
- Visible deformity or abnormality of joint
- Severe pain on weight bearing
- Unable to move limb
- Joint pain with sudden paleness, coolness and numbness of limb
- Joint is red, warm and painful to touch plus fever
| Yes |
No |
Seek Immediate Medical Attention!
These symptoms can be life-threatening. |
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| Injury, infection or disease can cause joint pain
Arthritis is a progressive, degenerative joint disease usually affecting adults over age 50
Some forms of arthritis occur in children
Joint pain can be a symptom of bursitis, gout, osteoarthritis and lyme disease
Lyme disease is seen only in certain areas of the country and usually causes mostly swelling and not much pain |
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Urgent Care - Have you identified one or more of the following symptoms?
- Joint is red, warm, and painful to touch without fever
- New pain, redness or swelling in any joint
- Joint pain with fatigue, fever, and headache after tick bite weeks or months ago
- Joint pain continues after 5-7 days of self-management
| Yes |
No |
Contact Your Health Care Provider. |
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Self-Management - You can help in the following ways:
- Rest joint, avoid weight bearing
- Apply ice pack for swollen joint, 20 minutes every 1-2 hours for first 24-48 hours
- Apply warm moist heat to joint 20 minutes, 3 times per day if not swollen
- Wrap an ace bandage around the joint for compression and immobilization - do not wrap too tightly
- Elevate the limb
- Take acetaminophen (Tylenol) or ibuprofen (Advil) for discomfort, if no reasons to the contrary
- Do some strengthening exercises as recommended by your Health Care Provider
- Return gradually to normal activities
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