While each person is an individual and may be affected
differently by osteoarthritis, we will discuss the general symptoms you want to
look for if you suspect you have arthritis. Remember, it is crucial that you go
to your doctor for a diagnosis before you treat your OA. Several other
conditions seem similar to OA, but are treated in different ways.
While many people think of OA as the inevitable result of
aging and wear on the joints, this isn’t true. The knees, hips, fingers, neck
and lower back are most commonly affected by OA, while the knuckles, wrists
elbows, shoulders and ankles are rarely affected except in usually cases of
overuse or injury. “If OA was caused by simple wear and tear, you would expect
these body parts to be affected more often,” notes David S. Pisetsky, MD, in
his book The Duke University Medical Center Book of Arthritis.
Most often, OA develops gradually. It may start as
soreness or stiffness that seems more a nuisance than a medical concern. Pain
may be moderate, intermittent and not interfere with your day-to-day existence.
Some people’s OA will never progress past this early stage. Others will have
their OA progress to a point where it interferes with daily activities and pain
and stiffness make it difficult to walk, climb stairs or sleep. Rarely, a person
with OA will experience sudden signs of inflammation such as redness, pain and
swelling, known as inflammatory or erosive osteoarthritis.
The most common signs and symptoms of osteoarthritis are:
- Joint
soreness after periods of overuse or inactivity.
- Stiffness
after periods of rest that goes away quickly when activity resumes.
- Morning
stiffness, which usually lasts no more than 30 minutes.
- Pain
caused by the weakening of muscles surrounding the joint due to inactivity.
- Joint
pain is usually less in the morning and worse in the evening after a day’s
activity.
- Deterioration
of coordination, posture and walking due to pain and stiffness.
If OA is in the hips, you may experience:
- Pain
in groin, inner thigh and buttock
- Referred
pain in knee and side of thigh
- Limping
when walking
If OA is in the knees, you may experience:
- Pain
when moving the knee
- Grating
or catching when moving the knee
- Pain
when walking up and down stairs or getting up from a chair
- Pain
that prevents you from exercising your leg
- Weakened large thigh muscles
If OA is in the fingers, you may experience:
- Pain
and swelling of the finger joints
- Bony
growth spurs at the joint at the end of the finger, called Heberden’s
nodes,
or at the middle joint, called Bouchard’s nodes.
- Redness,
tenderness and swelling in the affected joints, especially early on when the
nodes are forming
- Enlarged
joints
- Difficulty
with pinching movements, such as picking an item up from a table or grasping a
pencil or pen.
If OA is in the feet, you may experience:
- Pain
and tenderness in the large joint at the base of the big toe
- Pain
when wearing tight shoes or high heels
If OA is in the spine, you may experience:
- A
breakdown of the spinal discs resulting in bony overgrowth
- Stiffness
and pain in the neck and lower back
- Pressure
on the nerves in the spinal cord (pinched nerves)
- Pain
in the neck, shoulder, arm, lower back and legs
- Weakness
or numbness in arms and legs due to pinched nerves
