Joint Pain Or Muscle Pain?

The dilemma of understanding whether that nagging pain is coming from joints or muscles can be quite daunting, especially for someone who's been diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis, recently. Even for those who have not been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, joint and muscle pains can be considered the red alarm point. So what are they really and how do they differ? And most importantly, how can you tell the difference between joint pain and muscle pain? Joint pains are more like those you get right before flu. Remember that dreaded feeling of numbness in all your joints, as if you've been beaten up with a pole? Right! Now muscle pain is different because they are the type of pains you will get after an extreme workout.

Many people associate joint pains with rheumatoid arthritis, but they hardly consider muscle pains playing a role in the game. In fact, it should be acknowledged that if you have muscle pains around certain areas, especially around legs and arms, the culprit could be none other than joint inflammations that are commonly seen in arthritis.

The common symptoms of stiffness, pain and swelling in joints could easily affect the surrounding muscles and give you mixed signals. Therefore, recognizing whether the pain comes from a joint or a muscle may not be an easy task for someone suffering from rheumatoid arthritis.

For example, pain in the feet is very common but no one really cares about it. Remember that if your body is aching or in pain, it is a signal that something is wrong, somewhere in your body. In fact, pain is your messenger that indicates danger. So ignoring aches and pains will not help you in any way. When your feet hurt, you tend to change your posture. The latter may cause stress and fatigue to your muscles. And with that, you've welcomed muscle pain too! These posture problems may then lead to digestion problems, problems of the lower back and knees. Do you see the link?

Similarly in rheumatoid arthritis, joint pains can run from arms to legs, spreading its inflammations all around the joints and sometimes affecting the organs in the vicinity. Therefore, if you experience muscle pains and fatigue on top of the usual joint pains, you should know that inflammations are devil dancing in your body.

According to western medicine, although there is no known cure for rheumatoid arthritis, some alternative treatment methods such as Unani system have proven to be effective in eliminating the condition. The bottom line for any person suffering from rheumatoid arthritis is to know that something has gone wrong somewhere and that if treated, or taken care of early, the conditions could even be reversed.

Regular exercise in healthy doses is a must for any one suffering from joint and muscle pain due to rheumatoid arthritis. Additionally there are health supplements such as Omega-3 fatty acids, SAMe, TMG and Glucosamine that can assist you in the process. Additionally, there are alternative healing methods such as reflexology, yoga and reiki that you can try out with zero risk and no after effects.