What is Arthralgia? Signs and Symptoms of Painful Joints

Arthralgia is the  term for pain in the joint(s). It should not be mistaken with arthritis which is inflammation of the joints. Arthritis also presents with the other signs of inflammation like swelling, redness and/or heat. Joint pain is almost always seen in arthritis since pain is another feature of inflammation. However, not every case of joint pain will be accompanied by joint inflammation and associated features like swelling, redness or heat may not be present.

Signs and Symptoms of Arthralgia

Joint pain is a symptom and not a condition on its own. Identifying the character of the pain; other signs and symptoms that present; trigger, exacerbating and relieving factors; and the site of the pain will assist with isolating a possible cause.

Pain and movement

Mobility of the affected joint may be limited, sometimes due to swelling and degenerative changes, or restricted as a result of the exacerbation of pain. In arthralgia without swelling, or involvement of surrounding structures like the bursa, muscles, tendons, ligaments or bone the range of motion may still be normal.

Pain in the joints may be inflammatory or non-inflammatory. In inflammatory conditions, the pain is present both at rest and upon movement, while with non-inflammatory causes of athralgia, the pain may ease at rest and exacerbate upon movement. Stiffness of the joints should also be noted as it is often a sign of an inflammatory response and often eases with movement as is seen in rheumatoid arthritis.

Pain in or around the joint

It is also important to take note of whether the pain is within the joint itself (intra-articular) and localized, or diffuse thereby possibly originating from surrounding structures like to muscles (per-articular). Referred pain is when the pain originates from another site but radiates to the joint.

Pain in one or more joints

Arthralgia may affect one joint only (monoarticular), 2 to 4 joints (oligoarticular/pauciarticular) or 5 joints and more (polyarticular).  The pain may move from one joint to another (flitting) and concomitant signs like a fever and rash is may also be present.

Related Articles

1. Leg Joint Pain

Article reviewed by Dr. Greg. Last updated on October 13, 2010