Joint Pain in Spanish

What it means

Joint pain, which the National Cancer Institute's dictionary gives as the meaning of arthralgia, can affect one or more joints. It can be caused by many types of injuries or conditions. MedlinePlus says it may be linked to arthritis, bursitis, and muscle pain, and lists among the things that can cause it autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, gout, osteoarthritis, infections caused by a virus, an injury such as a fracture, tendinitis, and unusual exertion or overuse, including strains or sprains. Signs of joint inflammation include swelling, warmth, tenderness, redness, and pain with movement. A provider asks about the medical history and symptoms and does a physical exam; tests that may be done include a complete blood count and a joint x-ray.

Spanish term: Dolor articular
Gender and article: masculine: el dolor articular
Pronunciation: doh-LOHR ar-tee-koo-LAHR

Other Spanish terms	Where it is used	Note
artralgia	General	The Spanish dictionary enters it with the label Med. and defines it as pain of the joints; MedlinePlus en español lists it among the alternative names of its joint pain article.

Dolor articular is the title of the MedlinePlus en español article and the form it uses in its text: el dolor articular puede afectar una o más articulaciones. The phrase is masculine, el dolor articular. The same article also asks about the joint directly, as in ¿Cuál es la articulación que duele? The National Cancer Institute's Spanish dictionary defines artralgia as dolor en las articulaciones, and the Real Academia Española dictionary defines it as dolor de las articulaciones, marking the word as a feminine noun with the label Med.

MedlinePlus en español lists Artralgia, Rigidez de una articulación and Artritis among the article's alternative names; in the body of the article, artritis is one of the conditions that joint pain may be related to. Words that appear with the term are rigidez (stiffness), sensibilidad (tenderness), enrojecimiento (redness) and hinchazón (swelling), which the article uses in hinchazón y dolor articular intensos, its wording for severe joint pain and swelling.

Phrases for an appointment

What a patient or a clinician might say, in English and Spanish:

Who	English	Spanish
Patient	My knees and wrists have been hurting for about two weeks.	Me duelen las rodillas y las muñecas desde hace unas dos semanas.
Clinician	Which joint hurts the most? Is the pain on one side or both sides?	¿Cuál es la articulación que más le duele? ¿Siente el dolor en un lado o en ambos?
Clinician	Did the pain begin suddenly or slowly?	¿El dolor comenzó de repente o poco a poco?
Patient	It began slowly, and it is worse in the morning.	Comenzó poco a poco, y es peor por la mañana.
Clinician	Are your joints stiff in the morning? How long does the stiffness last?	¿Siente rigidez en las articulaciones por la mañana? ¿Cuánto le dura la rigidez?
Patient	About an hour. The joint also feels warm and looks swollen.	Más o menos una hora. Además, siento la articulación caliente y se ve hinchada.
Clinician	Can you bend and straighten the joint?	¿Puede doblar y enderezar la articulación?
Clinician	I am going to order blood tests and an x-ray of the joint.	Voy a pedirle análisis de sangre y una radiografía de la articulación.

In 9 languages

Language	Term
English	Joint Pain
Spanish (Español)	Dolor articular
Chinese (中文)	關節痛
Korean (한국어)	관절통
Vietnamese (Tiếng Việt)	Đau khớp
Filipino (Tagalog)	Sakit sa kasukasuan
Portuguese (Português)	Dor nas articulações
Thai (ภาษาไทย)	อาการปวดข้อ
Japanese (日本語)	関節痛

Where you'll see it

chartintake formmedical recordtriage note

Related ICD-10-CM category

ICD-10-CM code: M25 → Other joint disorder, not elsewhere classified

Related terms

Your right to an interpreter in the United States

If English is not your primary language and you have difficulty communicating in English, you may need an interpreter or a translated document when you visit a doctor or dentist, go to the emergency room or pick up a prescription. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights states that two federal laws, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, require programs that receive its funding to provide language access services free of charge.

You can ask when you make the appointment or at the front desk: "I need an interpreter, please." «Necesito un intérprete, por favor.»

More terms: Bones, joints and muscles

All terms in this area: Bones, joints and muscles — Huesos, articulaciones y músculos

Sources

This page is a language reference. It is not medical advice.