Arthritis Symptoms

Learn how to identify arthritis symptoms

Although there are over 100 Types of Arthritis and the arthritis symptoms for many of those types differs a lot, there are some basic symptoms that are almost always associated with arthritic conditions.

Physicians diagnose arthritis based upon the pattern of symptoms, medical history, physical exam, X-rays and lab tests. General arthritis symptoms are:

* joint pain,

* joint stiffness,

* inability to move the joint freely,

* joint swelling.

In Osteoarthritis, the most common form of arthritis seen today, the typical arthritis symptoms are pain and stiffness. Using the affected joint causes pain. This is especially true with finger joints and those that bear the body's weight. Pain and swelling increase with joint usage. These symptoms may be relieved somewhat with rest.

Rheumatoid arthritis, on the other hand, presents many more systemic arthritis symptoms. Common arthritis symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis include:

* Fatigue

* Stiffness, particularly in the morning and when sitting for long periods of time.

* Weakness

* Low-grade fever

* Periods of worse symptoms followed by periods of few or no

* Rheumatoid nodules, or lumps of tissue under the skin, appear in about one-fifth of people with RA.

* Muscle pain

* Loss of appetite, depression, weight loss, anemia, cold and/or sweaty hands and feet

* Involvement of the glands around the eyes and mouth, causing decreased production of tears and saliva.(1)

Gout, a form of arthritis, creates different arthritis symptoms because the way the disease affects you is different. People with gout have an excess buildup of uric acid in their bodies. The uric acid crystals create pain in the joints. Gout occurs in flare ups with acute toe pain as the most important of the arthritis symptoms.

Fibromyalgia creates whole body arthritis symptoms such as muscle aching and stiffness, fatigue and depression.

Psoriatic arthritis affects people with psoriasis. Its arthritic symptoms include bone and other joint tissues becoming inflamed, particularly the fingers and the toes.

Your physician can help you understand whether your stiff, aching muscles are arthritis symptoms or have some other cause.

(1) http://www.arthritis.org/conditions/DiseaseCenter/RA/ra_causes.asp