FAQ
Why Do Your Joints Ache in Menopause, and What Helps?
Key Takeaways Falling and fluctuating oestrogen around perimenopause and menopause can leave joints stiff and aching, often in the hands, knees, hips and shoulders. Menopausal joint pain is usually widespread and eases as you move through the day, which helps set it apart from osteoarthritis and from inflammatory arthritis. Swelling, heat, prolonged morning stiffness or…
See MoreInflammatory Joint Pain: Psoriatic Arthritis and Other Causes
Key Takeaways Inflammatory joint pain is usually stiffest after rest, eases with movement and affects more than one joint, which sets it apart from wear and tear. Psoriatic arthritis is linked to psoriasis and can appear as swollen fingers or toes, nail changes, heel pain or a stiff spine, sometimes before the skin is affected.…
See MoreHow Much Does Shoulder Surgery Cost in Australia?
Key Takeaways Public care as a public patient carries no direct cost for the surgery, while private care brings out-of-pocket costs in return for choosing your surgeon and your timing. A private shoulder surgery bill is made up of separate fees from the surgeon, the anaesthetist, the hospital, a surgical assistant and any implant. Medicare…
See MoreCortisone Injection for Shoulder Pain: Does It Actually Work?
Key Takeaways A cortisone injection settles inflammation and eases pain for a period, but it does not repair a torn tendon, worn cartilage or the underlying cause. How well it works depends on the diagnosis. A frozen shoulder or an acute flare often responds, while pain from arthritis or a degenerative tendon tends to return.…
See MoreShoulder Pain at Night: Why It Worsens and When to Act
Key Takeaways Lying down loads the shoulder differently and removes the daytime movement that masks pain, so a tolerable ache can dominate once you are still. The position that hurts and how the shoulder behaves by day give clues, from a rotator cuff ache when lying on the side to the all-round stiffness of a…
See MoreGout: The Joint Pain People Don’t Expect
Key Takeaways Gout tends to arrive suddenly, often overnight, as severe pain, swelling and redness in a single joint, most often the big toe. It comes from urate crystals that build up quietly over months or years, so a first flare can strike someone who feels otherwise well. Repeated flares can wear down a joint…
See MoreIs My Hip Pain Coming From My Hip or My Back?
Key Takeaways Hip-joint pain tends to sit deep in the groin or front of the thigh and worsens with weight through the leg. Back-related pain more often spreads through the buttock and down the leg, and can change with how you sit or bend. Numbness, tingling or weakness in the leg points more towards the…
See MoreClicking, Cracking, Popping Joints: Harmless or a Warning Sign?
Key Takeaways Most joint noise comes from gas releasing inside the joint fluid or from soft tissue moving over bone, and neither is a sign of damage. The sound on its own, however loud or frequent, is not a reliable warning; what matters is whether pain, swelling or a mechanical problem comes with it. Cracking…
See MoreHip Pain at Night and When Lying on Your Side: Why It Happens
Key Takeaways Lying on your side presses your body weight onto the outer hip, loading the gluteal tendons and bursa, which is why the pain often peaks in bed. The most common cause of outer hip pain at night is greater trochanteric pain syndrome; deeper groin pain suggests hip osteoarthritis, and buttock or leg pain…
See MoreMorning Joint Stiffness: Why It Happens and How Long Is Normal
Key Takeaways Brief morning stiffness that eases within about half an hour is common and usually mechanical. Osteoarthritis stiffness is often short but may last up to an hour, while inflammatory arthritis can last much longer. Duration is only part of the picture. Which joints are involved, one side or both, and how the stiffness…
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