Arthralgia

Overview
Arthralgia (from Greek arthro-, joint + -algos, pain) literally means joint pain;  it is a symptom of injury, infection, illnesses -- in particular arthritis-- or an allergic reaction to medication.

According to MeSH, the term "arthralgia" should only be used when the condition is non-inflammatory, and the term "arthritis" should be used when the condition is inflammatory.

Diagnosis and Causes
Diagnosis involves interviewing the patient and performing physical exams. When attempting to establish the cause of the arthralgia, the emphasis is on the interview. The patient is asked questions intended to narrow the number of potential causes. Given the varied nature of these possible causes, the questions may strike the uninitiated as irrelevant. For example the patient may be asked about dry mouth, light sensitivity, rashes or a history of seizures. Answering yes or no to any of these questions limits the number of possible causes and guides the doctor toward the appropriate exams and lab tests.

The causes of arthralgia are varied and range from, a joints perspective, degenerative and destructive processes such as osteoarthritis and sports injuries to inflammation of tissues surrounding the joints (e.g. bursitis, a painful inflammation of bursa, fluid filled sacks around the joints).

Treatment
Treatment depends on specific underlying cause. The underlying cause will be treated first and foremost. The treatments may include joint replacement surgery, for severely damaged joints, immunosuppressants for immune system dysfunction, antibiotics when an infection is the cause, and discontinuing medication when an allergic reaction is the cause. When treating the primary cause, pain management may still play a role in treatment. The extent of its role varies depending on the specific cause of the arthralgia. Pain management may include stretching exercises, over the counter pain medications, prescription pain medication, or other treatments deemed appropriate for the symptoms.

Complete Differential Diagnosis of the Causes of Arthralgia
(In alphabetical order)
 * Acute lymphoblastic leukemia
 * Acromegaly
 * Acute myeloid leukemia
 * Acute promyelocytic leukemia
 * Adhesive capsulitis of shoulder
 * Alkhurma virus
 * Ankylosing spondylitis
 * Arthrofibrosis
 * Atypical pneumonia
 * Autoimmune Hepatitis
 * Avascular necrosis
 * Baker's cyst
 * Barmah Forest virus
 * Behcet's disease
 * Bismuth
 * Blau syndrome (granulomatous arthritis, iritis, and skin rash)
 * Borrelia burgdorferi (Lyme Disease)
 * Bruton's agammaglobulinemia
 * Bursitis
 * Caplan's disease (rheumatoid arthritis and pneumoconiosis)
 * Carbimazole
 * Celiac Sprue
 * Chikungunya virus
 * Chlamydia trachomatis
 * Chronic fatigue syndrome
 * Ciprofloxacin (Quinolone-induced cartilage toxicity in children)
 * Coccidioidomycosis lung infection
 * Coeliac disease
 * Community-acquired pneumonia
 * Complex regional pain syndrome
 * Crohn's disease
 * Cryoglobulinaemia
 * Decompression sickness
 * Deferiprone
 * Dengue fever
 * Diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis
 * Diastasis symphysis pubis
 * Dressler's syndrome
 * Ebola
 * Ehlers-Danlos syndrome
 * Erythema nodosum
 * Erythema elevatum diutinum (is a rare type of leukocytoclastic vasculitis characterized by red, purple, brown, or yellow papules, plaques, or nodules)
 * Familial Mediterranean fever
 * Farber's disease
 * Fibromyalgia
 * Fluorosis
 * Fracture of bone
 * Gamekeeper's thumb
 * Gaucher's disease
 * Giant cell tumor of bone
 * Gluten-sensitive enteropathy associated conditions
 * Golfer's elbow
 * Gonorrhea
 * Gout
 * Graft versus host disease
 * Haemochromatosis
 * Haemophilia type A
 * Henoch-Schönlein purpura
 * Hepatitis A, B, C
 * Hereditary multiple exostoses
 * Hip dysplasia, congenital
 * Hurler syndrome
 * Hyperimmunoglobulinemia D and periodic fever syndrome ( attacks of fever, arthralgia, skin lesions, and diarrhea)
 * Hypertrophic pulmonary osteoarthropathy
 * Hypothyroidism
 * Iliotibial band syndrome
 * Interstitial nephritis
 * Isotretinoin
 * Jacobs arthropathy-camptodactyly syndrome
 * Juvenile chronic arthritis
 * Kawasaki disease
 * Kikuchi disease
 * Kniest dysplasia
 * Legg-Calve-Perthes syndrome
 * Lepromatous leprosy
 * Leukemia
 * Ligamentous laxity
 * Limb-girdle muscular dystrophy
 * Lipoid dermatoarthritis
 * Lupus erythematosus
 * Lyme disease
 * Malaria
 * Marfan syndrome
 * Mayaro virus fever
 * Metal fume fever
 * Methimazole
 * Mianserin (antidepressant, also mirtazapine and nefazodone are associated with arthralgia)
 * Mixed connective tissue disease
 * Morphoea/scleroderma
 * Multiple epiphyseal dysplasia: Recessive Multiple Epiphyseal Dysplasia
 * Multiple myeloma
 * Muscular dystrophy
 * Mycoplasma pneumoniae
 * Nalidixic acid
 * Nateglinide
 * Neuropathic joint disease
 * Noonan's Syndrome
 * Norfloxacin
 * Obesity
 * O'nyong-nyong fever
 * Osteoarthritis
 * Osteochondritis dissecans
 * Osteoporosis
 * Otospondylomegaepiphyseal dysplasia
 * Paget's disease of bone
 * Palindromic rheumatism (idiopathic, periodic arthritis marked by multiple and recurrent attacks affecting one to a few joints, with tissue inflammation around or adjacent to them)
 * PAPA syndrome ( Pyogenic arthritis, pyoderma gangrenosum and acne (PAPA) syndrome)
 * Parvovirus B19 infection
 * Pharyngitis
 * Pigmented villonodular synovitis
 * Pituitary tumour (*Acromegaly, growth hormone secreting tumor)
 * Piriformis syndrome
 * Plantar fasciitis
 * pneumoconiosis
 * Poliomyelitis
 * Polyarteritis nodosa
 * Polychondritis, Relapsing
 * Progressive pseudorheumatoid dysplasia
 * Propylthiouracil
 * Psoriasis
 * Pyoderma gangrenosum
 * Pyrazinamide
 * Pyrophosphate arthropathy (Pseudogout)
 * Rat bite fever (Streptobacillus moniliformis or Spirillum minus)
 * Reactive arthritis
 * Recessive Multiple Epiphyseal Dysplasia
 * Recurrent hereditary polyserositis
 * Relapsing fever
 * Renal osteodystrophy
 * Retropatellar Pain Syndrome
 * Rheumatic Fever
 * Rheumatoid arthritis
 * Rocky Mountain spotted fever
 * Ross River virus
 * Rubella
 * Sarcoidosis
 * Scleroderma
 * Scoliosis
 * Secondary hyperparathyroidism
 * Sclerosing osteomyelitis of Garre
 * Secondary syphilis
 * Semliki forest fever
 * Serum sickness
 * Sickle cell disease
 * Sjögren's syndrome
 * Slipped Upper Femoral Epiphysis
 * Soft tissue sarcoma
 * Spondylitis
 * Spondylolisthesis
 * Spondylosis
 * Stickler syndrome
 * Still's Disease, Juvenile-Onset
 * Subacromial bursitis
 * Sweet's disease
 * Symphysis pubis dysfunction
 * Synovial chondromatosis
 * Systemic sclerosis
 * Takayasu's arteritis
 * Tennis elbow
 * Tenosynovitis
 * Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura
 * Toxic shock syndrome
 * Trastuzumab
 * Trichinosis
 * Tuberculosis
 * Tularemia
 * Ulcerative Colitis
 * Urate crystal arthropathy (gout)
 * Waldenström macroglobulinemia
 * Wegener's granulomatosis
 * West Nile fever
 * Whipple disease
 * Wilson's disease
 * Wissler-Fanconi syndrome
 * Yellow fever
 * Yersinia enterocolitica Infection (Yersiniosis)
 * Yersinia pseudotuberculosis
 * Zika fever
 * Zotepine

Complete Differential Diagnosis of the Causes of Arthralgia
(By organ system)