Treating Joint Injuries & Conditions

If you’re experiencing knee pain, shoulder pain, or other joint discomfort, it may be due to an injury or underlying condition. A joint is any place where bones meet — think knees, shoulders, wrists, and ankles. There are many more parts within your joint, including ligaments, tendons, cartilage, and synovial fluid. When something goes wrong with any of these parts, joint pain is common.

Joint pain can hold you back from your regular activities and can worsen with time. But the right treatment helps you heal. If you’d like to speak with a Dignity Health expert in the Bay Area about joint pain and injuries, Find a Doctor online or call (415) 353-6400 for a doctor referral. We provide personal care with every treatment, no matter your joint problem.

What Causes Joint Pain?

Joint pain has three main causes:

• Health conditions: Osteoporosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and gout can all cause joint pain.
• One-time traumatic injuries: Broken bones, sprained ankles, sprained wrists, and shoulder dislocations are both accidental and sports-related.
• Overuse injuries: Repetitive motions commonly cause injuries such as tendonitis, rotator cuff injuries, and stress fractures. Over time, overuse can increase the risk of osteoarthritis, the breakdown of cushion between joints.

Types of Joint Injuries & Conditions

The most common types of joint problems include: 

• Broken bones or fractures
• Bursitis (inflammation of small sacs that cushion bones and muscles, tendons, or skin)
• Dislocated shoulders and other joint dislocations
• Gout, a type of arthritis
• Osteoarthritis and other degenerative joint and bone diseases
• Osteoporosis
• Rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, and other rheumatic disorders
• Sprains and strains, commonly of the wrists and ankles
• Tendonitis (inflammation of the tissues connecting muscles to bones)

Symptoms of Joint Injuries & Conditions

Joint pain varies depending on the cause — from sharp and severe to dull and achy.

Other symptoms include: 

• Achy or unusually tender muscles ache
• A noticeable deformity (if you have a broken bone or dislocation)
• Bruising
• Limited range of motion
• Swelling and warmth around a joint
• Stiffness

Expert Treatment for Joint Pain & Injuries

Our treatment for joint pain can vary depending on the cause. Acute injuries, including wrist and ankle sprains, often respond to home treatment with rest, ice, compression, and elevation (RICE), and ibuprofen.

Your Dignity Health doctor will review your medical history, risk factors, and overall health. Your treatment may include physical therapy, corticosteroid injections, and, sometimes, surgery. Visit the following Bay Area locations or call (415) 353-6400 to make an appointment:

• Dominican Hospital
• Saint Francis Memorial Hospital
• Sequoia Hospital
• St. Mary's Medical Center

Prevention is important, especially if you play sports. A physical therapist can help you maintain joint strength, flexibility, and range of motion and teach you strategies to protect your joints for a lifetime of use.

Dignity Health’s orthopedic doctors will work with you to treat and prevent future joint pain in the Bay Area.

Dignity Health offers care for all kinds of joint pain in San Francisco, Santa Cruz, and Redwood City.