What Causes Headaches Fatigue And Joint Pain

Fatigue Fever Headache And Joint Pain

• Medical Author: Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD

Reviewed on 7/18/2022

Headache has many causes including sinus infections, migraine, or tension headache. Joint pain is a characteristic symptom of the arthritis conditions. Fever may accompany many different types of infection. If you believe you have signs of an infection or are troubled by any symptoms, seek the advice of a health care provider.

While the list below can be considered as a guide to educate yourself about these conditions, this is not a substitute for a diagnosis from a health care provider. There are many other medical conditions that also can be associated with your symptoms and signs. Here are a number of those from MedicineNet:

How To Treat Headache And Fatigue

There are many at home remedies you can try to rid of your headache and fatigue. Try reducing your stress levels through exercise, relaxation, or meditation. When a headache strikes, try using a hot or cold compress on your head for about 5 to 10 minutes at a time, this may ease the pain. While some of the causes of these symptoms, like caffeine withdrawals and dehydration, will go away on their own, other require longer-term management.

If medications are the reason for your headache and fatigue, speak to your doctor and they may switch you to a different medication or lower your dose. Your doctor may also recommend a vitamin supplement, if your vitamin levels are low, but always make sure you are taking the recommended vitamin intake before taking any supplement.

If you feel as though your headache and fatigue symptoms are getting worse and pain relief, such as paracetamol or ibuprofen arent helping dull your symptoms, then seek immediate advice from a trusted healthcare professional.

Now you know more about what causes headache and fatigue and the best treatments, but you still want to know more about how to relieve your tiredness, then why not read our article on the 5 best vitamins and minerals for energy, next?

Disease Activity And Sleep

Fatigue and sleep problems go hand-in-hand for many people with arthritis. The main culprits are the inflammatory disease process and the accompanying chronic pain.

• Inflammation. If you have an autoimmune disease, your immune system attacks your body and inflammation is the result. The body undergoes stress as it tries to cope with the release of inflammatory cytokines in the blood. That can cause fatigue, especially when disease activity is high or low-grade inflammation remains for a long time.
• Chronic Pain. The pain-fatigue connection can be a vicious circle. Dealing with arthritis pain for months at a time over many years can wear you down. It can affect your sleep habits, which adds to your exhaustion. Being fatigued, in turn, can worsen pain and make it more difficult to manage.

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Nerve Conditions Which Damage Muscles

Conditions affecting nerves tend to lead to true muscle weakness. This is because if the nerve to a muscle fibre stops working, the muscle fibre cant work either and it will become floppy and eventually shrivel.

Neurological conditions: muscle weakness can be caused by cerebrovascular disease such as stroke and brain haemorrhage and spinal injury. Tumours in the brain can also lead to muscle weakness. Muscles which become partially or completely paralysed lose their normal strength and will eventually waste. Some recovery is possible but it will be slow and may not be complete.

Spine-related conditions: when nerves are damaged as they emerge from the spine , weakness can result. When the discs slip out, they press on nerves headed lower down in the body. The weakness affects only the muscles served by the irritated or compressed nerve.

Other uncommon nerve conditions:Multiple sclerosis : this is caused by damage to nerves in the brain and spinal cord and can cause sudden paralysis. This can recover partially but does not always do so.

: this is a post-viral paralysing disease which causes weakness and loss of muscle function from the fingers and toes upwards. It may last many months, although complete recovery is usual.

What Causes Fibromyalgia

The general consensus is that fibromyalgia is the result of a hypersensitive and hyperactive central nervous system, with the brain and spinal cord having developed heightened pain activity. Various risk factors have been suggested, such as genetic predisposition, trauma, multiple surgeries, or chronic stress, but these are not definitive.

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Treatment For Joint Pain

Altering the intensity and type of your activities is often beneficial for joint pain. Consider switching to gentle, low-impact exercise. Many patients also find temporary relief from non-prescription anti-inflammatory medications such as ibuprofen.

Ice has long been recognised for its help with joint pain. Application of cold packs can soothe irritated joints by dulling pain and reducing swelling. We apply this concept with our high-tech, safe whole body cryotherapy treatments.

Cryotherapy uses intense cold to lessen the pain of sore or strained muscles and joints. Cryotherapy also stimulates collagen and amino acid production, two major anti-inflammatory agents. A single treatment lasts only a few minutes but produces profound effects. Give whole body cryotherapy a try for a non-invasive method of improving joint pain and allowing you to continue an active lifestyle.

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Possible Causes Of Pain Between The Shoulder Blades

Pain between the shoulder blades can develop from a problem with any body parts located between the shoulder blades, such as:

• The skin between the shoulder blades
• Muscles like the rhomboids, middle trapezius, and lower trapezius, which all help keep your shoulder blades back and down
• The thoracic spine
• The thoracic aorta, which is part of the largest blood vessel that carries blood from the heart to the rest of the body
• Part of the esophagus
• Part of the heart
• A portion of the lungs

You might also have referred pain. When this happens, nerves send signals that cause pain near the shoulder blades, even though the original source of the pain is somewhere else.

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What Are The Signs & Symptoms Of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Someone with chronic fatigue syndrome can have many possible symptoms. The most common ones include:

• severe fatigue, which can make it hard to get out of bed and do normal daily activities
• sleep problems, such as trouble falling or staying asleep, or not having a refreshing sleep
• symptoms getting worse after physical or mental effort
• symptoms or dizziness that get worse after standing up or sitting upright from a lying down position
• problems with concentration and memory
• headaches and stomachaches

Other Sources Of Fatigue

Your fatigue is not always directly related to your arthritis disease activity, inflammation or pain. In fact according to a 2017 study published inCurrent Rheumatology Reports your fatigue level probably has more to do with other contributing factors, including obesity, physical inactivity, sleep disturbance and depression. Several of them may work together to cause your extreme tiredness, but identifying and treating even one of these factors can provide relief.

Managing Pain

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Can Anyone Experience Lingering Covid

When it comes to the life-threatening cases of COVID-19, doctors expect people who were hospitalized for severe pneumonia or stroke to need specialized care and frequent follow-up after being discharged.

But, although not completely defined just yet, post-COVID syndrome isn’t exclusive to people who experienced organ damage during their illness. It’s also not exclusive to people whose symptoms warranted a trip to the emergency room.

“Post-COVID syndrome can be seen in people who went to the ER with concerning symptoms or who had advanced symptoms that required a brief hospital stay, but it can also occur in people who had mild symptoms and self-treated at home,” warns Dr. Lahoti. “The important thing to note is that these are people who might not have required care from a specialist during their actual illness, but may now benefit from specialized care as these lingering symptoms continue to affect their daily lives.”

The actual frequency of post-COVID syndrome is still largely up for debate, and different studies find this condition to be more or less common in various groups of people.

“Some studies show that only 10% of people with COVID will go on to develop post-COVID syndrome, while other studies are showing much higher percentages some even suggest that up to 70% of people experience persistent symptoms,” says Dr. Lahoti.

According to Dr. Lahoti, there are hints and suggestions as to who’s most likely to develop lingering symptoms, though.

The Most Common Causes Of Muscle Pain

Not all aches are related to stress or physical activity. As stated above, some medical conditions can cause muscle pain. For example:

Fibromyalgia

In case you have pain on both sides of your body that lasts longer than three months, it might be a sign of fibromyalgia. It is a long-term condition that can cause pain in muscles, general fatigue, sleep and cognitive disturbances. Other symptoms of this condition include headaches, dry eyes, anxiety, pain in the lower belly, and bladder problems.

Keep in mind that only professional healthcare providers can make a diagnosis. If you notice the symptoms of fibromyalgia, make an appointment with a doctor as soon as possible and get the right treatment on time.

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What Else Should I Know

• Strong emotions can be a part of the illness, so it’s important to recognize and express your feelings. Feelings like sadness, anger, and frustration are completely normal and it’s important to acknowledge how you feel and recognize that it’s not your fault. Recognizing emotions can help you figure out what’s behind your feelings and help you manage problems.
• It can help to keep a daily diary of feelings and energy highs and lows. This also can let you share information that might help your doctor. You can also track trends for example, if your energy is high at one time of day and low at another that will help you figure out when to exercise or do other activities.
• Give yourself more time to do things, especially activities that take concentration or physical exertion.
• Get support from family, teachers, and friends.

Most important, don’t give up. Having chronic fatigue syndrome can be hard. But for most people, the symptoms are most severe in the beginning. Later, they may come and go. Teens with CFS generally get better faster and recover more completely than adults do. Most teens get partial or full recovery within 5 years after symptoms began.

Try to keep a positive approach to getting well and to not look for the reason why you have CFS. People who take action and stay positive can have a good outcome.

You also can find more information and support online at:

Rheumatoid Arthritis: Living And Dealing With Fatigue

People with rheumatoid arthritis typically have several permanently inflamed joints. The inflammation inside the body can lead to general physical weakness, drowsiness and exhaustion. This feeling of extreme tiredness is also called . Some people find this to be the worst symptom of the disease.

Other typical symptoms are joint pain and swelling, and also joint stiffness and physical weakness later on. Non-specific symptoms like exhaustion often start earlier on in the disease. But the symptoms and course of rheumatoid arthritis can vary greatly. People also deal with the disease in different ways. Although people experience their symptoms differently and cope with the disease in different ways, there are some things that many people with rheumatoid arthritis have in common.

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How Do Autoimmune Diseases Affect You If You’re Trying To Get Pregnant

Some autoimmune diseases can affect your ability to get pregnant and some have adverse effects on pregnancy. You may need fertility treatments to get pregnant. You might also want to wait until your disease is in the remission stage to try to conceive.

There is a higher risk for stillbirth or preterm birth if you have lupus. If you have myasthenia gravis, you may experience trouble breathing.

When To See A Doctor

In some cases, home treatment cant be enough to solve the problem of painful joints and muscles. If pain lasts for a week, it is important to see a healthcare provider. You might also want to make an appointment with your doctor in case of fever, vomiting, stiffness in your neck, difficulty swallowing, and inability to move that affects your daily life.

It is also possible to prevent sore muscles by staying hydrated, exercising regularly, and doing warmups before the workout.

In case you notice some symptoms of conditions described above, avoid self-medicating since it might only worsen your condition.

Hosted by the International Pain Foundation www.internationalpain.org

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Herniated Or Bulging Discs

Degenerative disc disease in the cervical spine or thoracic spine can irritate or press on your nerves or spine. This can lead to pain between your shoulders.

Other symptoms of a herniated disc include:

• Pain in one or both arms

Sometimes pain caused by disc disease in the neck is positional, meaning it can get better or worse when you flex or extend your neck.

What Is Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Chronic fatigue syndrome is a complicated disease for doctors to diagnose and even fully understand.

CFS is a chronic condition that makes people feel very tired and weak. They can also have headaches, dizziness, or other physical symptoms. Sometimes they have emotional symptoms too, like anger or sadness.

Different people with CFS can have different symptoms. Many CFS symptoms are similar to those of other health conditions, like mono, Lyme disease, or depression. And the symptoms can vary over time, even in the same person.

This makes treating the illness complicated. No single medicine or treatment can address all the possible symptoms.

CFS is sometimes called myalgic encephalomyelitis . Myalgic means muscle aches. Encephalomyelitis means that there may be inflammation in the brain or spinal cord.

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Joint Pain And Swelling

Up to 90% of people with lupus will have arthritis, which is defined as inflammation or swelling of the joint lining. The most common symptoms of arthritis are stiffness and aching, most often in the hands and wrists. Symptoms of arthritis can come and go and move from one joint to another. Pain and stiffness tend to be worse in the morning and improve as the day goes on. People with lupus can also experience pain in the joints without swelling or tenderness, which is referred to as arthralgia.

Role Of Inflammation In Fatigue

The mechanisms of fatigue are complex and have been studied in animal models and humans. Because fatigue could be explained by loss of muscle mass or altered mood, Norden et al. proposed a model to discriminate between these phenomena: some colon tumor-bearing mice demonstrated signs of fatigue and depressed mood , with no association with decreased normalized contractile properties of skeletal muscle of the limb. So fatigue seemed linked more to behavior than muscle activity.

Inflammation could play an important role . The injection of IL-1 in murine models decreased social exploration and increased hypersomnia and body weight loss, which were all improved by the administration of anti-inflammatory IL-1RA or IL-10 . Moreover, in the model of tumor-induced fatigue in mice seen earlier, fatigue was associated with increased levels of IL-1 and IL-6 in the brain, and treatment with minocycline, an anti-inflammatory agent, improved grip strength without reducing tumor growth or muscle mass .

Table 1 Possible mechanisms involved in fatigue

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What Are The Symptoms Of Post

Just as COVID-19 itself can come with a range of symptoms, so, too, can post-COVID syndrome.

The most common symptoms that can linger include:

• Brain fog, including an inability to concentrate and impaired memory
• Loss of taste and/or smell

“We’re not sure exactly how long these symptoms can persist, but we know that they can last at least six months or longer in some people,” Dr. Lahoti says. “The manifestations of these symptoms are interesting and somewhat unique. For instance, MRI scans show myocarditis in some of these people, indicating that the heart muscle can remain inflamed several months out even if heart-related symptoms weren’t prevalent during their illness.”

As for the cause and long-term consequences of these lingering symptoms? That’s still unclear, too.

“We don’t yet know why post-COVID syndrome occurs, but hypotheses range from hidden areas of infection to a prolonged inflammatory response,” explains Dr. Lahoti. “We’re also not sure what the long-term outcomes of these lingering symptoms might be, if any. We know this syndrome can certainly impact quality of life, but right now we don’t expect any severe impacts, such as ongoing organ damage.”

Pain And Tender Points

Almost all people with fibromyalgia ache all over. It can feel similar to osteoarthritis, bursitis, and tendinitis, but it’s over your entire body. This is usually what makes you go see your doctor.

The pain can be deep, sharp, dull, throbbing, or aching. You feel it in your muscles, tendons, and ligaments around the joints. For some people, the pain comes and goes. It could travel throughout your body.

You may also have tender points — specific spots around your joints that hurt when you press them with a finger. If you press a tender point on a person without fibromyalgia, they’ll just feel pressure. But that same pressure would be very painful for someone with fibro.

These tender points are in predictable places on the body. They’re often under the surface of the skin, not in areas of deep pain. It’s the tissue around the muscles and joints that hurts rather than the joints themselves.

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