Body Aches: 13 Possible Causes

Medically Reviewed by Sabrina Felson, MD on February 11, 2023

Muscle pain that affects a small part of your body is usually caused by overuse — sore arms from lifting boxes all day, for example. Or it could be a minor injury, like a bruised shoulder after a fall. But when you ache all over your body, it’s more likely caused by an infection, illness, or medicine you’ve taken.

If you have pain in your arms, legs, or both, your muscles may not be getting enough blood — a problem called claudication. At first, you may notice it only when you exercise, but in time, you might feel it when you sit or walk. This is usually caused by a condition called arteriosclerosis, which is when there’s blockage in the tubes that carry blood to your muscles.

This is when your thyroid gland doesn’t make enough of certain key hormones. It can cause muscle and joint aches, as well as swelling and tenderness. It can make you tired and lead to memory problems, thinning hair, dry skin, high cholesterol, slowed heart rate, and other issues. Your doctor can do a simple blood test to find out if you have it, and if so, drugs can help replace the missing hormones. 

When a flu virus hits, it brings on fever and congestion, and it can make your muscles ache, especially in your back, legs, and arms. It usually gets better on its own in a week or so, but call your doctor if it doesn’t. You also should see them if you have other health problems and you get the flu or you have a cough that doesn’t go away. Other infections can also give you muscle aches, including  COVID-19 and HIV.

Drugs called statins are used to control high cholesterol, and about 30% of people who take them say they have muscle pain. If this is happening with you, talk to your doctor. They may be able to give you a different medication.

This is a kind of autoimmune disease — it causes your immune system, which normally helps protect your body, to attack your tissues and organs. When lupus affects your joints or muscles, it can make them stiff, and it can hurt to move. There’s no cure, but medication and certain exercises can help control your symptoms. Talk to your doctor about what would work best for you.

This is also an autoimmune disease — it mainly affects your joints and can lead to bone loss. It can cause pain and inflammation all over your body, and your joints may swell into odd shapes. Medication and physical therapy can help with your symptoms, but there’s no cure. In some cases, you may need surgery to repair the affected joints.

This autoimmune disease makes your muscles and joints ache and causes painful, itchy, red or purple rashes on your eyelids. It also makes spots on your knuckles, elbows, knees, and toes, can dry your skin, thin your hair, and cause swollen, irritated skin around your fingernails. It can be triggered by infection, drugs, or cancer. There’s no cure, but your doctor can help you manage your symptoms with drugs and physical therapy.

This condition can cause pain in your joints and muscles as well as problems with sleep, mood, and memory. Scientists think it happens when your brain takes normal, mild pain signals and mistakenly makes them worse. It may be triggered by illness, surgery, or severe mental stress. Medicine can ease symptoms, and exercise and relaxation techniques like yoga may help, too.

This condition is a mix of joint inflammation and a skin disorder. The joints of your hands, fingers, feet, knees, and other places may feel stiff and throbbing. The pain might appear only on one side of the body, or it could be symmetrical on both sides. Psoriatic arthritis may limit your range of motion and leave you tired in the mornings.

This happens when something — possibly a virus or a problem with your immune system — inflames muscles all over your body, especially in your belly, shoulders, upper arms, hips, and heart. Over time, your muscles can start to break down, and it might be hard to swallow or catch your breath. Your doctor may suggest drugs to ease inflammation or calm your immune system and physical therapy to help you regain muscle strength.

The main symptom of this condition is extreme tiredness (fatigue) that can’t be explained by anything else. It may get worse with exercise or mental strain, but rest doesn’t make it better. You also may have muscle pain, memory problems, sore throat, joint pain, and headaches, and you may not be able to sleep well. There’s no cure, but medication and physical therapy can help manage your symptoms.

Bacteria called R. rickettsii  cause it, and a tick bite is usually how you get it. Most of the symptoms are flu-like — fever, chills, headache, nausea, insomnia, and muscle aches. A rash that doesn’t itch can show up on your wrists and ankles after a few days, then spread. Antibiotics treat it, and the sooner you take them, the better. If not treated, it can lead to inflammation in your lungs, heart, and brain, then kidney failure.

Bacteria from a tick bite also cause this. It can bring on fever, chills, tiredness, body aches, and a headache. Another sign is a “bull’s-eye” rash that’s clear in the middle and grows over a period of days — it can be up to 12 inches across. The rashes — there can be more than one — don’t necessarily show up near the bite. Lyme disease is treated with antibiotics, but some people still have aches and tiredness after finishing the drugs.

It’s a type of chronic arthritis that inflames the spine and sometimes the hips, knees, and chest too. It causes pain and stiffness, especially in the morning. Serious cases can lead to loss of motion in your back as the bones of your spine grow together. It also might affect the neck. Talk to your doctor if you notice any symptoms because early treatment can help manage the condition. 

This quickly brings pain and stiffness in your shoulders, neck, upper arms, buttocks, hips, or thighs that can be worse in the morning. You also may have fever, fatigue, weight loss, depression, and no appetite. Doctors think certain genes can make you more likely to get it. Something in the environment, like a virus, also may play a part. Steroids can ease pain and inflammation, and your symptoms may go away, but the condition can return.

Photo Credits:

1) Staras / Thinkstock

2) man_at_mouse / Thinkstock

3) Eraxion / Thinkstock

4) CDC – Cynthia Goldsmith, Dr. Erskine. L. Palmer, Dr. M. L. Martin / Wikipedia

5) rogerashford / Thinkstock

6) OpenStax College / Wikipedia

7) Suze777 / Thinkstock

8) ISM / Medical Images

9) dimdimich / Thinkstock

10) Chris Priest / Science Source

11) Jensflorian / Wikimedia

12) Jupiterimages / Thinkstock

13) Science Source

14) anakopa / Thinkstock

15) Science Photo Library / Science Source

16) Jose Luis Pelaez Inc / Getty Images

SOURCES:

Arthritis Foundation: “Axial Spondyloarthritis.”

Hospital for Special Surgery: “Ankylosing Spondylitis: An Overview.”

Johns Hopkins University: “Polymyositis.”

Lupus Research Alliance: “Easing Joint and Muscle Pain.”

The Mayo Clinic: “Polymyalgia rheumatica,” “Lyme disease,” “Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever,” “Chronic fatigue syndrome,” “Dermatomyositis,” “Hypothyroidism,” “Fibromyalgia,” “Dystonia,” “Statin side effects: Weigh the benefits and risks,” “Rheumatoid Arthritis,” “Lupus,” “Influenza (flu),” “Symptoms: Muscle Pain,” “Claudication. ”

National Psoriasis Foundation: “About Psoriatic Arthritis.”

MedlinePlus: “Psoriastic arthritis.”

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Body aches: Causes and treatments

Body aches can result from tiredness or exercise and commonly occur with infections such as the flu. But, they can also be a symptom of an underlying condition, such as fibromylagia, arthritis, or lupus.

While body aches are usually harmless, it is helpful to understand what causes them and when to seek medical attention.

Body aches can vary in intensity and frequency. A person may describe them as sharp, intermittent pains or a dull but persistent ache.

People can often identify and treat body aches without seeing a doctor. Sometimes, however, they may need medical help.

Share on PinterestBody aches can occur alongside pain, fatigue, and weakness.

If body aches are due to a medical condition, a person may experience other symptoms as well. Recognizing other signs can help a person identify the cause and decide whether they should see a doctor.

Some common symptoms that occur alongside body aches are:

• pain in a specific part of the body
• weakness
• fatigue
• shivers or changes in body temperature
• cold and flu-like symptoms

Body aches may occur for many different reasons. Most are easily treatable and relatively harmless, but sometimes body aches can be due to more serious medical conditions.

Possible causes of body aches include:

Fibromyalgia

Pain, fatigue, and muscle stiffness are all symptoms of fibromyalgia, a long-term condition that causes aches and pains throughout the body.

Fibromyalgia may result from the way the central nervous system processes pain messages when they occur in the body.

Infections and viruses

The flu, the common cold, and other viral or bacterial infections can cause body aches.

When such infections occur, the immune system sends white blood cells to fight off the infection.

This can result in inflammation, which can leave the muscles in the body feeling achy and stiff.

Medications

Some medicines and drugs, such as statins and blood pressure medications, have side effects that make the body feel sore, stiff, and achy.

Withdrawal symptoms from alcohol and certain drugs, including cocaine and opiates, can also have a similar effect.

Fluid retention

When the body retains fluid, swelling and inflammation may develop, resulting in general muscular aches and pains. A person may also experience sharp, localized pains and cramps.

Conditions that can lead to fluid retention include:

• thyroid problems, especially an underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism)
• congestive heart failure
• cirrhosis of the liver
• severe malnutrition
• chronic kidney disease and nephrotic syndrome
• venous insufficiency
• problems with lymphatic drainage

Each of these conditions needs specific treatment, but some home remedies can reduce the impact of water retention.

Learn more here about fluid retention, why it happens, and how to manage it.

Hypokalemia

Hypokalemia is when a person has low potassium in their bloodstream.

Low potassium affects the way nerves and muscles function, which can result in body aches, weakness, fatigue, and muscle cramps.

Stress

Stress can cause tension in the body and can also weaken the immune system. This may make the muscles feel stiff, as well as affect the body’s response to inflammation and infection.

Dehydration

Staying hydrated is essential to keep a person’s body functioning well. Dehydration can sometimes cause a person to feel tired and sore.

Lack of sleep

Share on PinterestA lack of sleep can result in aches and pains.

Scientists think there might be a two-way link between sleep and pain.

People who experience chronic pain often find it hard to sleep. At the same time, research has found that people with insomnia often experience chronic pain.

Over time, not getting enough sleep can lead to exhaustion. This may make the body feel achy, sluggish, and heavy.

Lack of sleep also affects the body’s ability to repair tissues and cells. When the body does not have sufficient time to repair and recuperate, a person may experience aches and pains more frequently.

Pneumonia

Pneumonia is a lung infection that can be very dangerous without treatment. Pneumonia may result in an inability to get enough oxygen into the body.

Without enough oxygen, red blood cells and tissues in the body are not able to function properly, which may cause aches and pains.

Find out more here about pneumonia.

Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS)

In a similar way to a person who does not get enough sleep, someone with CFS may experience muscular aches in addition to insomnia, exhaustion, and weakness.

Arthritis

Arthritis occurs when a person’s joints become inflamed. Arthritis can result from wear and tear on the body or may be a result of an autoimmune condition that causes the immune system to attack the healthy tissues that line the joints.

Pain and achiness are common symptoms of arthritis.

Autoimmune disorders

Various autoimmune disorders can cause body aches. These include:

Lupus: This occurs when a person’s immune system begins to attack healthy tissues, causing inflammation.

Myositis: This is an inflammation of the muscles. Other symptoms of myositis include fatigue and a general feeling of being unwell.

Multiple sclerosis (MS): This is an autoimmune condition that affects the central nervous system. People with MS feel body aches and pains because the tissue surrounding their nerve cells has broken down due to persistent inflammation.

Share on PinterestHome treatment includes drinking plenty of fluids to stay hydrated.

A doctor will prescribe treatment for any underlying condition that causes body aches and pains, but a person can also try the following remedies to help alleviate the discomfort:

Resting: This allows the body time to repair and recuperate.

Drinking plenty of fluids: Staying hydrated can help ease achiness caused by dehydration.

Taking over-the-counter medications (OTC): Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), which can reduce pain and inflammation.

Having a warm bath: The heat can help relax muscles and ease tension in the body.

Regulating temperature: This may include reducing a fever, keeping warm, or staying cool to alleviate shivering and prevent the muscles from seizing up.

A person should see a doctor if they experience:

• persistent pain that does not improve with home remedies
• severe pain, especially if there is no apparent cause
• any body aches or pains that occur with a rash
• body aches and pains after a tick bite
• body aches or muscular pain accompanied by severe redness or swelling
• body aches caused by a particular medication
• a persistent fever

Other symptoms that can accompany body aches may require emergency medical attention. These include:

• severe water retention
• difficulty swallowing, eating, or drinking
• shortness of breath
• vomiting, particularly with a high temperature or fever
• a stiff neck
• changes in vision
• extreme exhaustion that does not go away
• sensitivity to light
• weak muscles or inability to move part of the body
• fainting or loss of consciousness
• a seizure

The doctor can help diagnose the cause of body aches and determine if treatment is necessary.

If a person experiences body aches for more than 2 weeks, and they do not know what is causing them, they should see a doctor regardless of whether any other symptoms occur.

Mild body aches that improve over time and ease with rest, rehydration, and OTC treatment are usually no cause for concern.

However, body aches can also be a sign of a more serious underlying condition.

If a person experiences frequent or persistent body aches or aches that occur alongside other, more severe symptoms, they should speak with a doctor for proper diagnosis and treatment.

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new place. But it is important to know that sometimes such wandering pains can be a sign of a serious illness. Igor Antonov, head of the Pain Treatment Clinic of the FSCC FMBA of Russia, told Doctor Peter about this.

Igor Antonov — anesthesiologist, resuscitator, head of the Pain Treatment Clinic of the Federal Research and Clinical Center of the Federal Medical and Biological Agency of Russia.

“Wandering or migrating pains are pain sensations that occur in any part of the body and do not depend on the time of day and physical activity,” explains Igor Antonov, an intensive care physician. – More often, patients complain of arthralgia – joint pain or myalgia – muscle pain, but pain can also appear in the intestines, stomach, heart and other organs.

According to the doctor, the pain syndrome usually occurs suddenly and is localized in a specific place.

The intensity, duration and nature of the pain may vary. For example, a person experiences a severe acute headache, and then it passes and a dull pain appears in the right hypochondrium.

Wandering pains can lead to the fact that a person will develop other health problems: sleep disturbances and insomnia, anxiety, fatigue, apathy, physical and mental exhaustion, fibromyalgia – a chronic pain syndrome.

Igor Antonov emphasizes that wandering pains are NOT an independent disease, but a symptom indicating the presence of another pathological condition in the body.

Wandering pains may appear in:

• various types of neuroses;

• rheumatoid arthritis;

• systemic autoimmune diseases;

• osteochondrosis;

• metabolic disorders.

In addition, infectious, fungal or viral diseases, hormonal therapy or antibiotics can provoke the occurrence of wandering pains.

Therefore, you shouldn’t wait for it to go away by itself. If you have pain in any area, you should see a doctor.

— Ignoring pain can aggravate the course of the disease and lead to serious complications. If you suspect wandering pains, it is recommended to undergo a comprehensive examination of the body, the doctor recommends.

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Pain in any part of the body: causes, diagnosis and treatment

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Pain in a certain part of the body is a protective reaction of the human body to adverse external or internal factors. In this way, it signals the ongoing processes, which, as a rule, require a response, that is, medical intervention. Often patients cannot even say where and what hurts. Only a doctor can determine the nature and cause of the pain syndrome.

Today, a lot of people come to our clinic “Edcar” with complaints of pain in any part of the body. This is one of the most urgent problems of modern medicine. However, our specialists successfully diagnose and deal with different types of pain of various origins and localizations. If you have been experiencing pain in any part of your body for a long period of time, then urgently make an appointment with a therapist in Kaliningrad for an examination. The doctor, using the necessary medical equipment, will be able to adequately assess the situation, identify the cause of pain and prescribe effective therapy.

Please note that often pain in certain parts of the body may indicate pathological changes in the psyche, internal organs, and damage to the nervous system. Such signals must not be missed!

Causes of pain

Pain in any part of the body can occur for many reasons. By the way, just the reasons – very, very much! By itself, it represents a nerve impulse that is processed by the brain, and then sent to consciousness. However, pain in the body can indicate not only physical, but also mental disorders. It all depends on the state of the brain and the central nervous system. If they are subject to any changes, then “confusion” occurs. A person may feel pain in a certain part of the body or organ, assuming that it hurts there. In fact, the nervous system and the brain need treatment. In this case, the pain is felt physically and very real, as well as after injuries, injuries.

Thus, mental disorders are often signaled by frequent pains in the head, neck, back, and stomach. Most often they have a “wandering” character and flare up here and there. It is difficult for a person to determine what exactly hurts. But he feels discomfort, weakness and decline in vitality. Aching, pulling, long-lasting painful sensations most often indicate a senestopathic syndrome (mental disorder). Localization in this case is preserved in the limbs, internal organs, cervical region. Incompetent doctors who encounter such patients treat them for pathologies of internal organs – stomach ulcers, gastritis, arrhythmias, etc. Do not bypass unlucky patients and operations. However, the root cause – a psychosomatic disorder remains without the necessary therapy. This means that the underlying disease continues to progress, and sooner or later it will manifest itself in full.

The causes of psychogenic painful sensations “wandering” throughout the body can be the following pathologies:

• vegetoses – a huge group of disorders associated with excessive physical exertion, unhealthy lifestyle, occupational hazards or infectious diseases;
• asthenia – depletion of the central nervous system, which occurs against the background of prolonged depression, severe morale.

Also, other mental disorders, accompanied by panic attacks, anxiety, lack of joy in life and lack of desire to do anything, can also be the causes of pain syndrome anywhere in the body.

Aching pains, not related to psychogenic, most often appear in connection with:

• increased intracranial pressure;
• gastrointestinal diseases – pancreatitis, cholecystitis, gastritis, ulcers;
• inflammation of the kidneys;
• inflammatory processes in the appendages;
• myalgia – muscle tension;
• benign or malignant lesions.

In this case, it is very important to determine the nature and location of the pain. So, if the sensations are superficial, then this indicates changes in the mucous or subcutaneous tissues. Visceral pain is characteristic of diseases of the internal organs, and deep – for joints, bones. However, there are also reflected painful sensations that appear in other areas of the body than where the affected organ is located.

Diagnosis and treatment

Due to the fact that pain in any part of the body can have many potential causes, diagnostics by Edcar specialists is carried out in a high-quality and comprehensive manner. Our doctors do not rush to conclusions – in the foreground for them is an individual approach to each patient, where time-tested methods are used in diagnostic studies. If you experience pain in any part of the body, you should first consult a general practitioner as a general practitioner.

Depending on the nature, localization of pain, complaints of the patient and the formation of his body, the following will be performed:

• ultrasound examination;
• MRI and CT of the brain;
• duplex scanning;
• computed tomography;
• fluoroscopy.

The patient will need to have blood and urine tests.

It is very important for a therapist to correctly determine the cause of pain – whether it is physical, psychogenic, or arose as a result of an injury. If a certain pathology or disorder of the nervous system is suspected, the therapist refers to a specific specialist – a neurologist, gastroenterologist, cardiologist, nephrologist or another. For each of them, it is very important to prescribe such therapeutic methods that will cure the disease itself, and not drown out the chronic process. For this, not only traditional, but also new methods of treatment are used, which have already helped a considerable number of patients.

Along with medications, intramuscular or intravenous injections, specialists use manual therapy, therapeutic massage, and special joint therapy to treat patients. Help in the treatment of pain in any part of the body and blood irradiation with a laser, interstitial electrical stimulation, shock wave therapy.

Remember that pain that does not go away for a long period of time is not only a deterioration in the quality of life, loss of activity and working capacity. This is also a loss of health, the development of a serious pathology, the consequences of which without qualified medical intervention can be very deplorable. The lack of treatment of the acute stage of any disease leads to the development of a chronic form with constantly occurring relapses. Without treatment, the course of the disease worsens, complications develop. As for such pathologies as malignant tumors, ulcers, here time is the resource that should never be lost. Otherwise, everything will end in death. Terrible consequences threaten those who suffer from mental disorders, unaware of it. Without timely medical intervention, the case can end in disability, a complete loss of personality.

If you are worried about pain in any part of your body for 2-3 weeks, then it is better not to waste time and make an appointment with a therapist right now. Pre-registration by phone or through an online application will allow you to visit a medical institution for a consultation on any free day and convenient time. Contact us, we will be happy to help you!

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