Arthritis symptoms
It is interesting to note that since arthritis is often a systemic condition that there are multiple symptoms that aren’t necessarily associated with joint pain.
The cardinal symptoms and signs of arthritis when there is joint involvement are: • Swelling Pain- as one might guess- is the most common symptom and is feature of almost all forms of arthritis. The pain may be dull and aching such as the pain of fibromyalgia... or it may be sharp as the pain associated with tendonitis. It may be intermittent such as the pain of osteoarthritis or it may be constant such as the pain associated with malignancy. Sometimes the pain is localized; other times it is diffuse. Sometimes the pain is relieved by rest such as the pain of bursitis or it may be relieved by movement such as the pain of ankylosing spondylitis.
Some types of arthritis, particularly rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and fibromyalgia may also have fatigue as a prominent symptom.
Other types of more serious arthritis such as adult-onset Still’s disease, rheumatic fever, viral arthritis, septic arthritis, vasculitis, lupus, and even gout may have fever as a common symptom.
Morning stiffness is a significant symptom found with rheumatoid arthritis. Morning stiffness in the spine is a particularly striking symptom in ankylosing spondylitis.
Rashes may occur in diseases such as lupus, dermatomyositis, rheyumatic fever, psoriasis, and Lyme disease.
Myalgias- or muscle aches- figure prominently in conditions such as hypothyroidism, serum sickness, vasculitis, polymyalgia rheumatica, fibromyalgia, viral arthritis, drug-induced states (cholesterol-lowering drugs), lymphoma, and possibly inflammatory muscle disease.
Sometimes numbness and tingling in a limb may signify an underlying arthritic condition such as nerve root irritation from osteoarthritis affecting the spine or peripheral nerve irritation from carpal tunnel syndrome.
Weight loss may be seen in many forms of inflammatory arthritis.
Eye symptoms occur in lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, the various spondyloarthopathies, vasculitis, temporal arteritis, and Sjogren’s syndrome.
Mouth sores can be seen in lupus, Reiter’s disease, inflammatory bowel disease, syphilis, Behcet’s disease, and as a consequence of drug therapy (methotrexate).
Sores affecting the genitals can be seen in Behcet’s disease, Reiter’s syndrome, sporiasis, gonorrhea, and syphilis.
Tight skin is a relatively common symptom in scleroderma, CREST syndrome, thyroid disease, and diabetes.
Nail abnormalities are noted in psoriatic arthritis, Reiter’s disease, vasculitis, endocarditis, and malignancies.
Blanching of the fingers and toes (Raynaud’s phenomenon) is a common symptom seen in scleroderma, MCTD, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, vasculitis, and inflammatory muscle disease.
Suasage fingers and toes are seen in Reiter’s disease, psoriatic arthritis, sceroderma, sarcoidosis, and sickle cell anemia.
Low back pain is a particularly common symptom with osteoarthritis, degenerative disc disease, ankylosing spondylitis, inflammatory bowel disease, multiple myeloma, osteoporosis and compression fracture, Reiter’s disease, diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH), osteomyelitis (an infection in the spine), metastatic cancer, tuberculosis, brucellosis, and stenosis.
Heel pain is often seen in the spondyloarthropathies (psoriatic arthritis, Reiter’s syndrome, and ankylosing spondylitis), osteoarthritis, plantar fasciitis, Achilles tendonitis, and as a complication of therapies such as retinoid therapy.
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