Symptoms of Arthritis
Common Symptoms of Arthritis
If you suspect that you may be experiencing the onset of arthritis or actually suffering from arthritis, early detection and treatment is important.
Recognizing the symptoms of arthritis is very important because if left untreated, arthritis can advance, and result in joint damage that cannot be undone or reversed.
For people over 40 years of age, arthritis is the most crippling and the most widespread chronic disease in the United States.
There are more than 46 million Americans suffering from arthritis. According to the *National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion there will be 67 million sufferers, 18 years or older, by the year 2030.
Most arthritis sufferers fall within just 7 types of arthritis, they are:
Rheumatoid Arthritis
Gout
Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (often simply called Lupus)
Scleroderma
Of these 7 types more than 95% are either Osteoarthritis, Rheumatoid Arthritis or Gout.
Whilst many of the 100 different types of arthritis have similar symptoms that suggest the presence of arthritis, each arthritic condition has some specific differences. It’s possible for you to recognise these differences and make your first doctors appointment worthwhile.
You can find the specific symptoms for each of the 7 most common types of arthritis on this website, but in this article we will look in general terms at the 2 most common forms of arthritis; Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis.
Symptoms of Arthritis – the symptoms of Osteoarthritis
the symptoms of Osteoarthritis differ for each patient, but invariably they cover pain, swelling, stiffness and tenderness, in one or more joints. Knees, hands, hips and spine are usually the areas affected. Patients begin to feel a difference, even crackling joints when they rise to a standing position from a sitting position, when getting out of bed in the morning, and after exercise. With Osteoarthritis you won’t see redness or feel heat from the joint.
Symptoms of Arthritis – the symptoms of Rheumatoid Arthritis
the symptoms of Rheumatoid Arthritis usually affects the peripheral joints rather than just smaller areas of the body like the hands, feet, and arms. Symptoms of Rheumatoid Arthritis may include a mild fever, lack of appetite, fatigue, muscle and joint stiffness and aches in the affected joints. The symptoms of Rheumatoid arthritis are very similar to having the flu but last for a longtime and are not diminished when the infection is healed. The symptoms of Rheumatoid arthritis are felt especially following periods of inactivity such as, sitting for long periods and after a nights sleep.
Symptoms of Arthritis – pain
Imagine the cartilage in your body, that soft, yet pliable natural cushioning between your bones, starting to break down. When this happens there is no natural protection for your bones at the joints. Your bone joints would no longer have protection against the wear and tear of everyday life.
The fact that the nature of the resulting pain can vary considerably assists your doctor in determining which type of arthritic joint disease you may have.
The pain may be felt more with different activity, rising from a chair, walking, writing, typing, picking up or gripping something. You may feel the pain over a general area or within a particular joint. Any motion or activity that results in discomfort indicates that there may be damage to the joint.
Symptoms of Arthritis – joint stiffness, joint swelling, redness or warmth
It is not unusual for swelling to disappear after the cause has disappeared but in some cases the swelling doesn’t go away. This is because due to chronic overuse or repetitive damage the joint may undergo arthritic changes.
Although redness and warmth is not experienced in all of the 100 different types of arthritis it’s existence or absence is important because it assists your doctor when diagnosing the appropriate arthritis treatment.
Symptoms of Arthritis – other arthritis symptoms include:
extreme fatigue
lack of energy
weakness
feeling of malaise
joint deformity
loss of range of motion or flexibility in the joint
unexplained weight loss
non-specific fever
There are occasions when patients also have crepitus in their affected joints. This is a condition where you are able to feel the joint damage by either palpating (feeling) or by actually feeling it as you move the joint.
If you can provide your doctor with a list of your symptoms of arthritis, it will greatly assist the diagnosis of your condition and expedite a treatment plan that will increase your chances of success.
*http://www.cdc.gov/arthritis/data_statistics/arthritis_related_statistics.htm
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