Early Symptoms of Arthritis

Early symptoms of arthritis may include:

1. Joint pain and/or stiffness
2. Tenderness in and around the joint
3. Limited range of motion in one or more joints
4. Redness and warmth around the affected joint

Arthritis is the name for a group of diseases that involve damage and loss of function to body joints. There are more than 100 forms of arthritis. Here is a brief description of some of the more-specific early symptoms of arthritis for its major forms:

Rheumatoid Arthritis
This involves mostly the joints but it may also affect organs such as the lungs. Formation of firm lumps of tissue (rheumatoid nodules), is common. Inflammation of the joints may result in stiffness making movement difficult. Tenderness and stiffness for more than an hour in the morning is common. Involvement of the small bones of the hands and feet is common. There may be extreme fatigue. In early stages, moving the joints slowly may bring temporary relief.

Osteoarthritis This form of arthritis involves the joints only will little affect on other parts of the body. It tends to affect mostly older people and, because the pain increases with use, will generally feel worse later in the day. The symptoms are acute pain in the joints and a burning sensation in surrounding muscles and tendons. There may also be swelling and warmth as early signs. Bone spurs and bony enlargements may also occur. Now there is a new way to take a very helpful ingredient for osteoarthritis.

Psoriatic Arthritis An early symptom of psoriatic arthritis is psoriasis (red, patchy and scaly skin). In fact the psoriasis may be present ten years before the arthritis develops. If the psoriasis affects the finger nails, then the joints closest to the fingertips will likely be the first to be affected by this form of arthritis.

Ankylosing Spondylitis The earliest signs of this arthritis are frequent pain and stiffening in the lower spine, sacroiliac joints and hips which is often aggravated by inactivity. The pain and uneasiness gradually moves up the spine to the neck and may also include the rib cage. It may cause bones to fuse together.

Gout
Gout is characterized by the sudden onset of severe pain, tenderness, warmth, redness, and swelling from inflammation. It affects one single joint, most commonly a big toe. It may also spread to other joints such the ankle, knees, and hands. It can, but rarely does, affect shoulders, hips, and spine. Gout attacks happen most often at night.

Inflammatory arthritis refers to various forms of arthritis that involve inflammation and possibly an overactive immune response.