Polyarthralgia: Joint Pain and Fibromyalgia

What is Polyarthralgia?

Polyarthralgia is defined as aches in the joints, joint pains, arthralgia of multiple joints, and multiple joint pain.

Doctors need to review patient histories as well as carry out physical examinations in order to be able to provide an accurate diagnosis of polyarthralgia.

Treatment of polyarthralgia can involve medication or medication free strategies. The aim of treatment for polyarthralgia is to reduce the pain, help promote healing, and allow your joints to keep working properly.

Main Content

Polyarthralgia is a non-inflammatory condition having a number of symptoms that can include include:

• Fatigue
• Joint pain
• Weakness
• Joint tenderness
• Swelling of the joints
• Stiffness of the joints
• Limited joint movement

Related Terms:

• Myalgia - Muscle pain with no signs of inflammation.
• Polymyalgia - Muscle pain that affects several muscles.
• Arthritis - Pain associated with joint inflammation, which is absent in arthralgia and polyarthralgia.
• Polyarthritis - Pain associated with joint inflammation and usually affects five or more joints.
• Osteoarthritis - Pain in the joints of the knee, hips, and hands.
• Arthralgia - Pain affects one joint.
• Oligoarthritis or oligoarticular disease - Affects 2 to 4 joints.
• Oligoarticular - Involving ≤ 4 joints
• Polyarticular - Involving > 4 joints

Simple Arthralgia:

• Literally means joint pain, it is a symptom of injury, infection, illnesses (in particular arthritis) or an allergic reaction to medication.
• Main symptom is pain; no clinical features of inflammation in the joints or morning stiffness; history of inter-current illness or viral infection.

Polymyalgia and Fibromyalgia:

Polymyalgia and fibromyalgia are quite often confused as they both cause muscle pains throughout the body - and they both have similar names. However, they are different disorders with different causes. In fact, it is possible for a person to have both polymyalgia and fibromyalgia. The difference between fibromyalgia and Polyarthralgia is polyarthritis causes inflammation to the joints, whereas there is no inflammation with polyarthralgia.

Polyarthralgia and Polymyalgia:

Polyarthralgia also shares some similarities with Polymyalgia, and both of those conditions cause similar pain levels. However, Polyarthralgia affects the joints, while polymyalgia affects the muscles around the joints. It is possible to have both Polyarthralgia as well as Polymyalgia at the same time. Both polymyalgia and fibromyalgia may cause depression related to living with a painful chronic condition.

Polyarthritis:

Polyarthritis is the word usually used to describe pain affecting five or more joints, while a patient with 2 to 4 joints involved would be said to have oligoarticular disease.

The initial symptoms of Polyarthritis - which usually appear in the third to fifth decade of life - include painless swelling or thickening of the skin of the hands and fingers, pain and stiffness of the joints (polyarthralgia), often mistaken for rheumatoid arthritis, and paroxysmal blanching and cyanosis (becoming blue) of the fingers induced by exposure to cold (Raynaud syndrome).

Rheumatoid arthritis:

At least four of these signs or symptoms for six weeks:

• pain and swelling in at least three joint areas;
• symmetrical presentation;
• early morning joint stiffness for more than one hour;
• involvement of metacarpophalangeal joints, proximal interphalangeal joints, and wrists;
• subcutaneous nodules;
• positive rheumatoid factor;
• radiological evidence of erosions.

Fibromyalgia:

• People with Fibromyalgia experience pain in their tendons and ligaments, along with tender points throughout their body along with fatigue.
• Even slight pressure on tender points can cause pain.
• More women than men have Fibromyalgia, which has been known as, 'chronic muscle pain,' psychogenic rheumatism,' 'tension myalgias,' and, 'fibrositis,' in the past.

Seronegative (non-rheumatoid) Arthritis:

• Linked with psoriasis, bowel disease (ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease), bladder symptoms, and anterior uveitis.
• May occur after infections (streptococcal throat infection, chlamydial urethritis, or bowel infection with yersinia, salmonella, shigella).
• Mainly asymmetrical, large joint oligoarticular involvement; possible spinal involvement (sacroiliitis)

Osteoarthritis:

• Pain is usually in large, weight bearing joints, carpometacarpal joint of thumb, or distal interphalangeal joints of the fingers; presence of Heberden's nodes, crepitus; lifestyle factors such as overweight, sedentary occupation, repetitive use of joints, and history of trauma to affected joints may be relevant.

Author Credentials: Ian is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Disabled World, a leading resource for news and information on disability issues. With a global perspective shaped by years of travel and lived experience, Ian is a committed proponent of the Social Model of Disability-a transformative framework developed by disabled activists in the 1970s that emphasizes dismantling societal barriers rather than focusing solely on individual impairments. His work reflects a deep commitment to disability rights, accessibility, and social inclusion. To learn more about Ian's background, expertise, and accomplishments, visit his full biography.