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When to see a doctor
By Mayo Clinic staff
Call 911 or emergency medical assistance
Seek emergency help when your joint pain is caused by an injury and is accompanied by:
- Bleeding
- Exposed bone or tendon
Seek immediate medical attention
Ask someone to drive you to an urgent care center or emergency room if your joint pain is caused by an injury and is accompanied by:
- Joint deformity
- Inability to use the joint
- Intense pain
- Sudden swelling
Schedule a doctor's visit
Make an appointment with your doctor if your joint pain is accompanied by:
- Swelling
- Redness
- Tenderness and warmth around the joint
Begin self-care measures while you wait for your appointment with your doctor:
- Try an over-the-counter nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) to help relieve pain and swelling. Options include aspirin, ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, others) and naproxen sodium (Aleve).
- Avoid using your joint in ways that cause or worsen pain.
- Apply an ice pack to your painful joint for 15 to 20 minutes a few times each day.
- Pinals RS. Evaluation of the adult with polyarticular pain. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed June 7, 2010.
- Ferri FF. Arthralgia limited to one or few joints. In: Ferri FF, et al. Ferri's Clinical Advisor 2010. Philadelphia, Pa.: Mosby Elsevier; 2009. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/204525103-5/1009930400/2088/I4-u1.0-B978-0-323-05609-0..00063-0--f50160.fig?tocnode=58139675. Accessed June 7, 2010.
- Kimura Y, et al. Evaluation of the child with joint pain or swelling. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed June 7, 2010.
- West SG. Systemic diseases in which arthritis is a feature. In: Goldman L, et al. Cecil Medicine. 23rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/204525103-5/1009930400/1492/1055.html#4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-2805-5..50302-5--cesec22_13349. Accessed June 7, 2010.
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