If you feel pain and stiffness in your body or difficulty moving, you may have arthritis. All types of inflammation cause pain and swelling in the joints. Joints are places that connect two bones, such as elbows and knees. Over time, the joint swells. Some types of arthritis can also cause problems in organs, such as eyes or skin
Joint swelling means enlargement and increase in volume where the joint is located. The most common cause of this increase in volume is the increase in the amount of joint fluid. However, the enlargement of other tissues of the joint or even the tissues around the joint can cause the joint to become larger or at least appear larger.
A joint is where two bones move together and their surfaces slide over each other. These surfaces are covered by a layer of articular cartilage, whose function is to make the surface of the bone smooth and slippery, thus facilitating movement. The joint is covered by a thick tissue membrane, which is called the joint capsule.
The inner surface of the joint capsule is covered with a thin layer of tissue called synovium, which is called the synovial membrane. The function of the synovial membrane is to secrete joint fluid. Joint fluid is viscous and slippery and makes most joint surfaces slippery. This liquid also nourishes cartilage cells.
Causes of joint swelling
The increase of fluid inside the joint can be caused by various reasons, the most important of which are:
- Bleeding within the joint due to bone fracture, torn ligament, meniscus, or synovium tissue, or following a brief injury to the joint of a person with hemophilia. Bleeding inside the joint is called Hemarthrosis
- More secretion of joint fluid due to stretching and synovial tissue damage, such as seen in knee meniscal tears
- Synovial tissue tumors followed by more joint fluid secretion
- Inflammation of synovial tissue and more secretion of joint fluid. For whatever reason the joint gets arthritis, the synovial tissue can become inflamed and secrete more fluid.
Arthritis basically means joint inflammation and this inflammation mainly occurs in the synovial tissue. So in every arthritis there is inflammation of synovial tissue. However, this inflammation can lead to an increase in the secretion of joint fluid, or the amount of secretion and production of joint fluid may remain normal. However, in the majority of arthritis, the properties and types of joint fluid change.
The most important causes of joint arthritis that can cause an increase in joint fluid and as a result joint swelling are:
- Arthritis or osteoarthritis
- Rheumatism such as rheumatoid arthritis, rheumatic fever, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis, lupus
- Metabolic diseases such as gout and pseudogout
- Joint infections such as purulent infections, tuberculosis infections or viral infections
Other causes of joint swelling include:
- Growth of synovial tissue in diseases such as rheumatism, tuberculosis infection or synovial tumors
- Joint bone enlargement in arthritis
Sometimes the swelling of the joint is due to the swelling of the tissues around it, and the joint itself is not a problem, for example
- Swelling of bursae around the joint and creating bursitis
- Swelling of the skin around the joint, such as allergy and sensitivity
- Tumors around the joint such as ganglion in the wrist
- Tenosynovitis such as Decron’s disease in the wrist
25 December 1392 11:35
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