CAN ALCOHOL AFFECT JOINTS?

hello everone, i also faced the same problem after having 2-3 drinks of different brands. my left knee is under pain.

Hi everyone,

I also am experiencing severe joint pain after "semi-severe" alcohol consumption. It never fails, "Morning-After-Arthritis" shows up and stays a few days. My joints become stiff, cracky and sore & my back turns 87 years old, while the rest of me is 34. I have 3 possible reasons why this "over-night" affliction hits, or maybe all 3 together creates "The Perfect Storm" of conditions concerning joint pain:

1- Dehydration: makes sence, joints require fluid to remane healthy joints. And maybe a night on the town deprives them of necessary fluid levels?

2- The anti-histimine explaination posted earlier by another sufferer could also be very right. After alcohol consumption, the body releases anti-histimines and maybe, once they are circulated to the joints, are negatively affecting joint health? 

3- The third avenue that I am researching is regarding the bodys pH level. The body in order to remain healthy should have a pH level of 7.35 (ideally). A higher number means a more alkaline body pH level and a lower number means a more acidic body pH level. Pick-up some small strips from the Pharmacy if you want to test your own level. Also, check online for a pH level graph for a more visual reference.

Beer pH levels (typically) are in the 3.7 - 4.1 range, wine is said to be around the 3 - 3.5 range and hard alcohol around the pH level of 3. (Oh, and soda levels are also around 3, so mixing them in with the hard stuff doesn't help.) So, is it possible that the pH level related to alcohol drinks disrupts the body's natural pH level and the joint pain that we are all describing is a by-product of a series of joints attempting to function normally while their fluids are chemically imbalanced? Put another way, if pollution from one area can cause acid rain to fall in another area, maybe this idea isn't so far fetched? 

Also, many of the items we consume daily are of the more acidic nature, maybe our drinking-nights are just the straw that the camel couldn't handle and our joints wish to take the rest of the week-end off!

I'm a 23 male and have been suffering from this for a few years now, since having an operation on my hip. Like ppl have said, beer is the worse. I wish everyone would stop turning a blind eye to this. My aim is to make an alcoholic drink that doesnt cause these effects, and a tablet for improving the condition. I'm pretty sure this will make me a millionaire... With the right marketing of course! The last post concluded things well, and this one was usefel;

‘Dehydration, sulfites, histamine releaseand build up of uric acid are all connected to alcohol consumption. You might try bromelaine tablets (from pinneapple) that break down the food and alcohol to allow healthy digestion and absorption of nutrients. Also consider organicwines which have less sulfites and are quite enjoyable tasting too. And try to consume foods that have healthy oils (extra virgin olive or organic flax seed) and/or high fiber foods in them while drinking as they will help your body to remove unwanted build up of uric acid.
Whatever you do- don't mix alcohol with pickles or ice cream as they usually contain polysorbate 80 which will trigger high release of histamines into yourbody! And since alcohol does the same thing you get a double whammy of congestion and inflamation.
I usually take bromelain with turmerictablets which seem to help counter some of alcohol effects’

 

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The PH level suggestion might hold some truth, as im sure the symptons worson for me if i have a fizzy drink such as coke, or if i smoke. I try to avoid drinking now which is difficult and makes me seem like an anti social loser. If you do drink, try to avoid mixing ure drinks, drink lots of water before bed, and try to stay active the nxt day! This thing seriously sucks and is depressing but hey, atleast it encourages us to be healthy. I really want to know the underlining cause tho. I'm sure we will one day.

Wow.  Glad I came across this thread.  I'm 44 and have had pain in my finger joints recently particularly in the mornings.  I've always loved beer and drink most days; no problems in the past.  I started to think arthritis (unlikely), then gout (but the symptoms seem very different).
Anyway yesterday I didn't drink and noticed that my fingers were fine this morning.  Coincidence?  So I searched the net and found this.
Will try wine and see what happens.  In the worst case can always stop drinking!
Very weird.

It looks unanimous and all my research point to alcohol as the culprit that exacerbates joint pain. However, it is not the only cause. Repeated use of joints over the years and injuries are usually what cause the underlying conditions for joint pain, alcohol just makes these conditions "flare up". I currently suffer from chronic bursitis in my right shoulder. When I say chronic I mean it is constant pain with no relief. It started about 4 weeks ago and has got progressively worse. I have also developed tendinitis in my right elbow.

I am currently a PT student so know all the background on the potential suspects (gout and various forms of arthritis).  I suffer from similar symptoms after drinking and based on my education I have a couple hypotheses: dehydration leads to decreased synovial fluid (or thicker viscosity) leading to increased friction and joint degradation OR alcohol stimulates an inflammatory response leading to swelling and pressure on nerve endings (pain).  I don't drink very often, but its all around bad for you systemically.  The best answer is to not drink, although thats not the answer people want to hear.

another knee sufferers case: I have had knee pain for years. travelling many places on a motorcycle i had begun to blame wear and tear. doctors and hospital visits have been useless. I can remember back to the first time i began having trouble and the clonking that went on if i twisted a certain way, and the feeling that pain will follow(usually within a day or two). then, nine or so years later i became vegetarian. that changed little except more energy. then i began experimenting with foods. in the meantime i began having suspicions of alcohol. however, the pains that followed alcohol drinking were sporadic and in different parts of my knee. i could almost know what i had eaten or drank from the locality of my pains and restrictions in movement. anyway, after countless false starts here are the results. i am over 50 but under 70

Yikes...I have loved my Red Wine for years. Sad thing is... I can make it through my day with the joint and muscle pain, knees, wrists, ankles,etc.. But when I get home, I can't wait to reach for my bottle of red medicine. By my second large glass, I slip into "comfortably numb" mode. That is, the pain goes away. I have believed that the anti-oxidant values were far more beneficial. After reading all of these responses..I'm thinking differently. I'm not much for hard liquor, An occasional cold beer in the summertime. But Red Wine is my mistress. I am going to try a 2 week, no alcohol run and see what the outcome is. I will re-post with the results.

I agree that this is a problem that partly results from underlining joint problems. Could people comment on whether their symptons for this condition (aching joints after drinking alkohol) began after a period of inactivity? Or after any other changes? This would be helpful

I am a moderate binge drinker - I can go a couple of weeks in between binges and when i do drink I generally just slowly consume from 6-10 beers over the course of 6 hours or so. I try not to really overdo it - I try to avoid getting very drunk and blacking out. I have recently noticed to my surprise that alcohol appears to be the cause of my back pain. My back always generally aches and feels fatigued and standing for long periods is uncomfortable. My back just does not feel good and has not felt good for a very long time, as long as I can remember. I also get some knee pain and some neck pain. I've noticed the alcohol connection recently because lately I have been "quitting" for periods because I've come to recognize that for me, alcohol is unhealthy. I'll go a month or 6 weeks without drinking and then get stressed out and do a little binge which always makes me feel like c**p the next few days after. I've noticed after the 3 week point of not drinking my back feels oddly very strong, stable and does not hurt. It actually feels good, the opposite of it's normal feeling. This has happened about 4 times now where I have noticed it. My back goes right back to being normally messed up after I drink for weeks. Like I said I also get the knee pain.

I have in the past considered that my alcohol use has contributed to my pain, and I have assumed it had to do with dehydration, vitamin depletion, type of alcohol etc. I would try to counter those assumptions with drinking more water, taking vitamins etc but they never helped so I thought well its probably not the alcohol. Confirming though in myself that alcohol does have this effect makes me think I just don't know the mechanism and probably never will and it may be beside the point anyway. Maybe it results from the hormonal effect of increased cortisol causes muscle wasting or perhaps its a toxic affect from acetaldehyde or its gout. Whatever it is, it is from alcohol and the only solution for me is to not use it. Of course, I miss it after a while especially when stressed or if I'm around drinking friends. I'm probably am and I suspect many others here are addicted to it in some measure. I've decided though that nothing is worth having chronic back pain over and am going to eliminate it from my life.

I have this same issue as well. I have 2 glasses of wine and I wake up in a extreme pain in my knees only after an hour or so of drinking. I seriously would like to know what causes this. And I doubt that dehydration is the key. I drink water all the time especially if I'm going to be drinking. I also will have a bottle of water between drinks to keep hydrated and I still have the same problem. I always thought I had too much fun haha but I dont think its worth the pain that it causes me few hours later.

The easy way to check if you are likely to have gout is to check your uric acid level.  I drink apple cider vinegar as a precaution to keep gout away and check my acid level every year or so. 

Wow this is strange, I have the same thing, I thought it was after hard alcohol, but it seams to be from beer also just started a year or so ago and I drank harder before I am now 52. 1 thing is I started a cholesterol medicine before the pains . the pain is on the tendon on the out side of my knee and it will be like a muscle cramp in the night and it will come and go, it is usually worse in 1 leg. no pain in any other joints and I have a replacement shoulder. 

When I was in college one of my Professors said that ankle problems were related to Alcohol.  Both my parents were either Alcoholics or close to this, I drank some but very little and none now.  The question is if alcohol affect the joints such as ankles then could it also create a genetic problem in the children of alcoholics.  I am on of six children and each of have had ankle problems and now my niece whose mother was the only known alcoholic in our family is also experiencing these problems. I would be interested in replies on this subject.  Does any one know of any studies relating to the children of Alcoholics and joint and bone disease?

I have the same condition pain in my both hands from fingers to forearm and I have a guess about it .

I have blood fat problem especially((triglyceride )) and ((cholesterol)) my triglyceride is around 500 but it should be around 200 and my cholesterol is 200 it must be less than this . So I suggest everyone here goes for a ((FAT BLOOD TEST )) and it would be great if feedback the results .