swollen joints

[dharmabum1959]

Hello! I was severly depressed last year, and didn't get out of bed for about six months. During this time, my knee joints became swollen, painful and stiff, with some loss of muscle mass around the knees and in the legs. (I was severly depressed!)
   Is it posssible that being bedridden for so long caused this problem in the knees, or is this condtion arthritis?
Have you seen joint swelling and pain in some bedridden patients? I'm very curious and i'm in a lot of pain.
---- Thank you ----

[Dr. Kokil Mathur]

Hi
Welcome to the forum!
The loss of muscle mass could be due to inactivity. Similarly if you were prone for arthritis such as osteoarthritis, the period of inactivity could have aggravated the arthritis and hence swollen joints. There are various causes of multiple joint pains like osteoarthritis, gout, rheumatoid arthritis, rheumatic pathology, thyroid problems etc.
Please consult an orthopedic specialist regarding this.  There are no swollen joints associated with inactivity alone as the cause. However inactivity aggravates an existing joint condition like arthritis.
Hope this helps. Please let me know if there is any thing else and do keep me posted. Take care!

[LivingInHope]

Have you consulted a rheumatologist about the swollen joints?