Medically reviewed by Dr. Stephen Matta, DO, MBA, CAQSM

Key Takeaways:  If you’re still struggling with joint pain after Lyme treatment, you’re not alone. Lyme bacteria can linger in the joints long after antibiotics, triggering ongoing inflammation and pain — this is known as Lyme arthritis. Antibiotics alone may not be enough. They can kill active bacteria but often don’t repair the damage left behind or address lingering infections, co-infections, immune dysfunction, or inflammation. Relief is possible! Highly effective treatments like ozone therapy, peptides, herbal medicine, and IV nutrients help reduce inflammation, support tissue repair, and strengthen your body’s ability to heal–bringing you much needed relief.

How to Treat Lyme Disease Joint Pain

If you’re living with joint pain from Lyme disease, you’re not alone — and you’re likely searching for real answers, not just temporary relief. We know this because we’ve worked with hundreds of Lyme patients desperate for relief and healing. Thankfully, we’ve been able to help them get results.

Lyme arthritis affects nearly 60% of people with late-stage or chronic Lyme, causing pain, stiffness, and swelling that can make your everyday life feel exhausting. It’s one of the most common complaints we hear from our Lyme patients at our Philadelphia medical clinic.

The good news? There are holistic treatment options beyond masking symptoms — options that address the root causes of inflammation and support your body’s natural healing process. In this article, we’ll break down why Lyme disease triggers joint pain and, more importantly, how a holistic, integrative approach can help you get back to a life without the constant pain of Lyme arthritis. We’ve answered common questions below but we’d be happy to give you more personalized answers. Schedule a discovery call to get the answers you’ve been looking for.

What Is Lyme Arthritis?

Lyme arthritis is joint pain and swelling caused by Lyme disease — usually showing up months or even years after the initial infection. It feels like deep, aching pain or stiffness. The pain is usually in larger joints like the knees, but it can affect other joints too, like your fingers. It’s your body’s inflammatory response to the bacteria from Lyme that never fully left your system. 

Does Lyme Disease Joint Pain Come and Go?

Unlike everyday joint pain, Lyme arthritis tends to come and go in flares — some days better, some worse — and can become chronic if left untreated. The key to relief is treating the underlying infection and inflammation together.

How Lyme Disease Leads to Joint Pain

When the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi settles into the joints, it causes inflammation leading to pain, stiffness, and swelling. Lyme disease has also been linked to immune system dysfunction, causing the immune system to become weakened or, in some cases, overreact. Both increase the possibility of infection and inflammation in the body, whether from Lyme disease or from a secondary infection.

Over time, this persistent inflammation can cause the cartilage and other joint tissues to break down, leading to long-term damage and increasing the likelihood of chronic arthritis.

Who Is at Risk for Lyme Disease Joint Pain?

If Lyme disease is caught early (even within the first few days), it is less likely to spread throughout the body. Lyme arthritis is most common in patients who were treated late for their Lyme disease—and it is often found in people who were never treated at all.  However, studies have shown that Lyme disease may still be present in the joints even after treatment.  Because of this, anyone who has experienced Lyme disease may be at risk for Lyme arthritis.

Common Symptoms of Lyme-Related Joint Pain

What Lyme disease joint pain feels like may vary somewhat from person to person, but typical symptoms include: 

• Joint pain
• Swelling in the joints
• Stiffness
• Joints that feel warm to the touch
• Pain that moves from one joint to another
• Limited range of motion

Lyme disease joint pain symptoms can often resemble other forms of arthritis, including rheumatoid arthritis. Because of this, joint pain from Lyme disease is often misdiagnosed and mistreated.

However, Lyme arthritis presents some unique characteristics and symptoms. It typically settles in large joints like knees, ankles, and shoulders. Unlike rheumatoid arthritis, Lyme arthritis often affects one joint at a time. Symptoms may come and go, and they may even migrate between the joints, affecting the shoulder one day and a big toe the next.

How Lyme Arthritis Feels Day-to-Day

As with any joint pain conditions, day-to-day life with Lyme arthritis can be challenging. Many of our patients have said that their Lyme arthritis negatively impacted and even impeded their daily life, leading to joint stiffness in the morning, trouble walking, and, as a result, reduced physical activity.

If Lyme arthritis is correctly identified and treated, it is rarely long-lasting. However, many patients deal with the frustration of not being able to move freely or without pain while also not getting the answers and help they need. That’s when they call Meeting Point Health.

Diagnosing Lyme Arthritis

Diagnosing Lyme arthritis is key to developing an effective treatment plan. Because the cause of the pain is different than for other joint issues, we approach the treatment for Lyme arthritis differently as well.

No one test is used to determine whether an individual has had Lyme disease. While conventional medical tests can suggest that Lyme disease may be the cause of your joint pain, the Meeting Point Health team goes deeper, applying a functional diagnostic lens to give you the answers you need to find the relief you want.

Our Lyme arthritis diagnosis begins with a physical exam, evaluation of other symptoms (fever, headache, fatigue), and analysis of risk to determine whether a tick bite was likely. Blood tests can identify the presence of antibodies working against Borrelia burgdorferi. Many practices will use ELISA followed by the Western Blot to confirm the diagnosis. However, there have been concerns about false negatives and the limitations of these tests in accurately detecting the disease. 

At Meeting Point Health, we use the comprehensive Tick-Borne Panel from Vibrant Labs to test for all the multiple strains of Borrelia as well as the numerous Coinfections possible with tick bites. A fluid analysis of the affected joints may also be helpful in determining or confirming a Lyme arthritis diagnosis.

Conventional Lyme Disease Joint Pain Treatment Options

The typical treatment for Lyme arthritis often includes antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, and corticosteroids. While these conventional medicines and therapies can offer temporary relief from the joint pain that comes from Lyme disease, they don’t always solve the root issue. 

Why Antibiotics and Conventional Treatments May Not Help Lyme Arthritis

Traces of Lyme disease bacteria can remain in the joints even after comprehensive traditional treatments. Plus, misdiagnosis of the root cause of your joint pain, the presence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria or co-infections, or autoimmunity concerns can all slow or prevent healing. 

It can be extremely frustrating to go through treatment without results. Thankfully, with the right approach, most people see a full recovery. Only about 10% of Lyme arthritis patients experience chronic arthritis. A treatment plan that addresses the root cause of the pain is critical to ensure relief.

Natural, Holistic Healing for Lyme Joint Pain

Integrative medicine can offer lasting relief from Lyme disease joint pain by treating the body as a whole — not just the symptoms. By supporting the body’s natural healing processes and addressing the root causes of inflammation, we can help patients manage Lyme disease and its long-term effects more effectively. 

Ozone Therapy to Reduce Inflammation and Target Pathogens

Ozone, a type of oxygen, offers antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and oxygenation-enhancing effects. Introduced through an IV, ozone has shown promise in targeting—and destroying—Borrelia burgdorferi.

As such, ozone therapy is an emerging and important treatment for Lyme disease joint pain. Ozone therapy can be used to improve circulation, reduce joint pain, and increase movement, while modulating immune responses and directly impacting those Lyme-related pathogens. Learn more about ozone therapy for Lyme disease.

Methylene Blue for Neurological and Mitochondrial Support

Methylene blue, once used as a dye, is a natural salt with antimicrobial and antioxidant properties, it has been found to prevent cellular damage and death and reduce the presence of free radicals. It’s also known for its ability to support the function and health of mitochondria, which produce energy for the cells. 

Methylene blue has long been used in treatment of malaria, blood disorders, and urinary tract infections. Often administered through an IV and paired with UV light blood irradiation, microbial potential and ability to cross the blood-brain barrier have helped to also position methylene blue as a powerful treatment option for Lyme disease patients—especially those suffering from cognitive issues like fatigue and brian fog. Learn more about methylene blue for chronic Lyme.

Peptide Therapy for Tissue Repair and Immune Modulation

Peptides, which are short chains of amino acids, are a promising area of regenerative medicine. Most people know peptides from skin care products and commercials, but these protein building blocks go well beyond cosmetics.

Particular peptides may help to target the pathogens that cause Lyme disease, repair damaged tissues (including those impacted by Lyme arthritis), reduce systemic inflammation, and support good immune function—all of which are key for patients dealing with chronic joint pain. Learn more about Peptide Therapy.

IV Therapies and Herbal Protocols

One of the strengths of a holistic approach is the ability to utilize a variety of conventional and non-conventional medicines. While ozone therapy and peptides fall under emerging western medicine, traditional healing practices can be just as effective—especially when used together.

Many herbs have been shown to offer antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and immune-enhancing properties, all of which can offer Lyme arthritis relief. These non-toxic herbal remedies, along with nutrient IVs, ozone therapy, and more, can be an effective part of an evidence-based, non-toxic treatment plan. IV therapy is one of the most efficient ways to deliver powerful nutrients into your system. 

Chronic Lyme Disease Pain: Tara’s Story

As a yoga teacher and studio owner, Tara was in great health—or so she believed. When she started having heart palpitations, that illusion of health came crashing down. After visiting a general practitioner and a cardiologist, Tara was put on a series of treatments that provided short-term relief for her pain, but never went beyond.

Tara learned about Meeting Point Health through a friend. At her first consultation, Dr. Matta asked if she knew about Lyme disease. At her second visit, Mary Anne recommended that she begin treatment right away. Through a holistic approach including diet, acupuncture, and ozone therapy treatment, Tara finally found relief. With support from these techniques, Tara’s body was able to heal itself—an idea that Dr. Matta and Mary Anne centered her treatment around from day one.

Potential Complications of Untreated Lyme Arthritis

If treated quickly, Lyme disease patients may live a long, happy, uncomplicated life. Without treatment, however, the long-term consequences of Lyme arthritis can be devastating. Chronic inflammation may lead to joint damage, neurological impairment, reduced mobility, and the emotional toll associated with all of these ongoing concerns.

Chronic Lyme disease is any instance in which symptoms last for four weeks or more. In addition to arthritis, some of the complications of long-term Lyme disease include:

• Headaches
• Fatigue
• Stiff neck
• Facial paralysis
• Breathing difficulties
• Swollen lymph nodes
• Brain fog

Timely care that focuses on the root cause is essential to help anyone recover from Lyme arthritis—both physically and mentally—so that they can enjoy their life again.

Why Choose Meeting Point Health for Lyme Joint Pain

With the right treatment plan, you can find relief from Lyme arthritis. Dr. Matta, Mary Anne, and the team at Meeting Point Health are ready to help, with expertise in treating chronic Lyme and joint pain, an integrative approach to treat the whole body, and a dedication to your long-term healing.

Recovery from Lyme disease is possible, and relief from Lyme disease joint pain is available through our holistic approach to wellness. To learn more about Lyme disease treatment in Philadelphia—whether you know that Lyme disease is present in your pain or not—schedule a consultation with our team. You can request more information or set up a discovery call to help us learn more about you.