Arthritis Symptoms

Osteoarthritis

Approximately 21 million people in the United States suffer with osteoarthritis. The disease develops gradually. Osteoarthritis usually affects the knees, hips, fingers, feet, or spine. It rarely affects the knuckles, wrists, elbows, shoulders, or ankles. Symptoms include:

• Soreness in the joint after inactivity or periods of overuse.
• Stiffness in the joint after rest. It disappears quickly as activity begins again.
• Stiffness in the morning that lasts no more than 30 minutes.
• Pain in the joint which is less in the morning and is stronger at the end of the day following activity.
• Hip osteoarthritis: Pain in the groin, inner thigh, or buttocks, and a pronounced limp.
• Knee osteoarthritis: Pain when moving the knee, the knee locking or catching; pain when standing up from a chair; pain when going up and down stairs; weak thigh muscles.
• Feet osteoarthritis: Pain and tenderness in the large joint of the big toe.
• Spine osteoarthritis: Pain and stiffness in the neck and the lower back.

The risk factors for osteoarthritis are excessive weight, age, injury, and a genetic predisposition to osteoarthritis.

Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis usually develops in the wrists, knuckles, and knees. The ball of the foot may be affected. It can also cause misalignment of the spine. Symptoms include:

• Morning stiffness that lasts for at least an hour.
• Swelling and pain in the joints for 6 weeks.
• Accumulation of fluid, particularly in the ankles.
• Fatigue, fever, and weight loss.
• Nodules caused by inflammation of blood vessels under the skin.

The exact cause of rheumatoid arthritis is not known. It is an autoimmune disease where a person's immune system is triggered to attack their own tissues. Factors that may cause the disease are genetic and environmental. There may be other factors such as hormones or diet. Rheumatoid arthritis occurs more frequently in women than in men.