Joint pain can stem from various conditions, including arthritis, bursitis, and tendinitis. While some joint pain results from structural damage, many cases are due to the nervous system amplifying normal sensory input. Understanding the root cause and true nature of the pain is crucial for effective treatment.

Determining the exact cause of joint pain can be complex because our medical understanding of pain is still evolving. For example, consider a woman who experiences knee pain while walking. The pain could be structural or neuroplastic. An MRI scan might reveal signs of osteoarthritis, leading to a diagnosis that suggests the condition is incurable and may require lifelong management and surgical intervention.

This scenario is common, but it overlooks a critical point: many people show signs of osteoarthritis on MRI scans yet experience no pain. A 2018 study that reviewed over 5,000 scans of healthy knees (with no pain symptoms or injury history) found that 19-43% of the adults over 40 had signs of osteoarthritis without any pain.