“I have a lot of pain in my joints. Could it be rheumatoid arthritis?”
I have been experiencing a lot of pain in my joints and I'm not sure what to do. It's not severe pain, but I'm scared that this could be something worse. I also have a family history of rheumatoid arthritis. What are the symptoms that I should be looking for?
3 Answers
Rheumatoid Arthritis is a condition that tends to cause a symmetric polyarthritis - typically that means what happens on 1 side happens on the other and polyarthritis means many joints that are involved Morning stiffness is a characteristic symptom of rheumatoid arthritis were it may take a patient 1 or 2 hours to limber up in the morning and be able to get on with their day. Also squeeze tenderness of the knuckles of the hands and the metatarsal regions of the feet is common When we evaluate someone who has pain swelling and or stiffness of many joints we consider rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, or conditions termed spondyloarthropathy Characteristic lab abnormalities in rheumatoid will include an elevation of the sedimentation rate and C-reactive protein, which are inflammation indicators. About (3/4) patients with rheumatoid arthritis produce a rheumatoid factor antibody and there is a newer more specific antibody called an anti CCP that can assist in the diagnosis My advice would be to get your symptoms checked so that a diagnosis and treatment plan can be initiated Thomas P. Olenginski, M.D., FACP Staff Attending Physician - Geisinger Medical Center, Danville PA Department Rheumatology HiROC FLS Physician Champion BMD Committee Chairperson 570-271-6416 Fax: 570-214-2924
Good evening,
Most people will develop some degree of arthritis in some joints as they grow older; this is typically wear and tear arthritis also known as osteoarthritis. This type of arthritis typically affects joints such as the knees, hips or back but can affect other joints and is typically associated with pain with activity, improvement with some rest and anti-inflammatory medications, heat and other such measures. There can also be some swelling.
Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease that affects the joints in a very different way to wear and tear arthritis; typically there is a lot of pain, redness, warmth and swelling in affected joints and typically there is also a lot of morning stiffness and with activity the symptoms and stiffness do improve a bit during the day. In addition, it typically RA affects multiple joints all at the same time on both sides of the body such as the knuckles of both hands, the wrists, ankles and feet. If you have red hot swollen joints typically every day in the mornings that take a long time (greater than an hour) to loosen up and that does not really improve with regular OTC medications such as Advil or Aleve, then it would be useful to be evaluated to ensure that you do not have RA or any other similar condition.
I hope this helps you.
Most people will develop some degree of arthritis in some joints as they grow older; this is typically wear and tear arthritis also known as osteoarthritis. This type of arthritis typically affects joints such as the knees, hips or back but can affect other joints and is typically associated with pain with activity, improvement with some rest and anti-inflammatory medications, heat and other such measures. There can also be some swelling.
Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease that affects the joints in a very different way to wear and tear arthritis; typically there is a lot of pain, redness, warmth and swelling in affected joints and typically there is also a lot of morning stiffness and with activity the symptoms and stiffness do improve a bit during the day. In addition, it typically RA affects multiple joints all at the same time on both sides of the body such as the knuckles of both hands, the wrists, ankles and feet. If you have red hot swollen joints typically every day in the mornings that take a long time (greater than an hour) to loosen up and that does not really improve with regular OTC medications such as Advil or Aleve, then it would be useful to be evaluated to ensure that you do not have RA or any other similar condition.
I hope this helps you.
You probably should not diagnose yourself. You should consult a rheumatologist
