Sometimes conditions usually affecting one joint may affect a few different joints. However, it isn't as simple as this as the two lists overlap. The list separates conditions usually affecting one joint from conditions affecting more than one joint for each age group. See the links for more information about each condition that can cause joint pain. There are many more less common causes that your doctor may need to consider.

The following is a list of the most common causes of joint pain. Nerve pain also occurs when a 'slipped disc' in your back causes pain in your leg (called sciatica after the sciatic nerve which is often the one being squashed by the out-of-place disc). For example, a problem in your hip may cause you to also feel pain in your knee. Joint pain may also be caused by pain felt along the course of a nerve. The tendons, ligaments or muscles around the joint.The bones of the joint or near the joint.The underlying cause may therefore be a problem with: Joint pain may also be caused by different structures in or around the joint. At other times it may need investigations and a referral for you to see a specialist to find the diagnosis. The cause of joint pain may be obvious, such as following a sports injury. The possible causes for joint pain in children are different to the possible causes for adults. The possible causes will partly depend on your age. If you are thought to have rheumatoid arthritis then you will need an urgent appointment with a specialist because starting treatment early will reduce the risk of long-term problems.If you have a broken bone (fracture) which involves a joint.If you have an infection in a joint (septic arthritis) then you will need to be seen in hospital as an emergency.Some causes of joint pain require urgent treatment.

The pattern of the joint pain in terms of how many and which joints are affected will depend on the underlying cause. Joint pain may affect just one joint or it may affect many different joints. See also the separate leaflet called Arthritis. A joint can be painful without being inflamed, or it can be both painful and inflamed.

This is different to the word arthritis, which means inflammation of the joint, which causes pain and sometimes warmth, redness and/or swelling of the joint. The medical word for joint pain is arthralgia. Joint pain is discomfort that arises from any joint.

Another word for issues