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Side Effect: Joint Pain

What is Joint Pain?

Joint pain is discomfort, inflammation, or soreness in any of the joints in the body. Common sites of joint pain occur in joints that allow us to bend in certain ways, such as:

What does joint pain look like or feel like?

Joint pain can mild feeling or severe, It can be short-lasting (e.g. a minute or two), or it can be persistent and not go away.

Joint pain may present in different ways, including:

Depending upon the cause, pain in the joints may be associated with redness, swelling, and warmth around the affected area.

Joint Pain


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Who gets Joint Pain?

Joint pain, especially in elderly, may be caused by arthritis. However, other causes may exist, such as:

How to prevent Joint Pain

Preventing joint pain require work on the part of the patient. Areas to focus on include:

If receiving growth factors after chemotherapy, your doctor may recommend taking loratadine (Claritin®) for joint/bone pain prevention. Loratadine is an inexpensive, over-the-counter, non-sedating antihistamine medication that is often used by people with allergies, or with cold symptoms.

How to treat Joint Pain

If severe and limiting your ability to move, your doctor or physical therapist may initially recommend the R.I.C.E. protocol before prescribing medications or recommending strength exercises.

RICE protocol:

Joint pain management strategies will depend on the cause.

Over-the-counter medications used to treat joint pain:

Prescription medications used to treat joint pain:

References

1. Sinusas K. Osteoarthritis: diagnosis and treatment. Am Fam Physician. 2012 Jan 1;85(1):49-56.

2. Kirshner J, McDonald M, Kruter F, Guinigundo A, Morrow P. NOLAN: a randomized, phase 2 study to estimate the effect of prophylactic naproxen or loratadine vs no prophylactic treatment on bone pain in patients with early-stage breast cancer receiving chemotherapy and pegfilgrastim. Support Care Cancer. 2018 Apr;26(4):1323-1334.

Created: March 27, 2024 Updated: March 27, 2024