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  • Q&A with Australian Health Practitioners

    Widening of a joint

    Related Topic
    Sports Injuries & Prevention
    Can someone please explain to me how widening of a joint occurs and if it causes pain or not.

    Thank you.
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  • Dr Ryan Hislop

    Chiropractor

    Ryan Hislop is the Clinical Director at the Orange Chiropractic Health and Wellness Centre. As an experienced and evidence-based diagnostician, Ryan works largely by medical … View Profile

    To better answer this question a little more information is required. I will give a general outline however if you can be specific to what joint is in question and what the context is I will aim to be more targeted in my response.

    As a general rule,  joint is comprised of two surfaces which are usually in a relative contact with one another. In specific joints such as synovial joints, there is a fluid between each joint surface which allows for free fluid movement of the joint. Other joints are known as fibrous joints which have less room between them, little to no fluid, and are therefore less mobile.

    For a joint to “widen”, i assume you mean to have more of a gap between the two surfaces. This may occur as a result of ligament laxity which may be due to an injury such as a severe strain, or may be a genetic predisposition, such as marfans syndrome.

    This may or may not cause pain (sorry to sit on the fence), however this is unforunately the facts. Hypermobility (which may result in joint widening) may lead to an increased change of strain/sprain injuries which will lead to pain, however hypermobility alone is not a painful syndrome.

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