Joint pain

What could be causing my chronic joint pain which includes ALL joints in my body with stiffness, pressure and popping. Affected areas include spine (back and neck), shoulders, wrists, hands with numb/tingling fingers, hips, knees, ankles and feet with numb/tingling toes. Even get occassional popping from my chest (sternum?).
To make a long story short, Im 28 yrs old and my body feels like im pushing 60 or worse. I tested negative for rheumatoid arthritis, although thats what I feel it is based on my symptoms. Id appreciate ANY other suggestions or possibilities!!

[S. Kaul, MD]

Hi there!

Pain involving multiple joints can be caused by rheumatoid arthritis, gonococcal arthritis, non-gonococcal reactive arthritis, rheumatic arthritis, osteo/ degenerative arthritis, serum sickness, secondary to inflammatory bowel disease, connective tissue disorders, autoimmune disorders like SLE, associated with vasculitis, psoriatic arthritis, polychondritis, gout or pseudogout, haemachromatosis, secondary to a few metabolic and endocrine disorders etc., just to name a few. I would suggest getting this evaluated by a primary care physician or a rheumatologist for an accurate diagnosis and appropriate management.
Hope this information helps.

Take care!