Article by Bob Alter.
Your knee is killing you and someone mentioned the "A" word. You're now researching on the internet "arthritis symptoms". Arthritis symptoms can be hard to detect because we normally don't listen to our bodies. Other people say "I think I'm starting to get arthritis, my knees are killing me after a long day at work".
The most common arthritis symptoms are persistent pains in one or more joints. Most people will overlook these arthritis symptoms and just tell themselves it's overuse. Other folks will head straight to the doctors office to find out for sure.
What Category Do You Belong To?
Education is a key ingredient in helping you determine if you indeed have arthritis or simply arthritis symptoms. Below are the most common arthritis symptoms and later we will briefly explain each one in great detail.
- Constant joint pain in several locations
- Swelling, stiffness and redness
- Specific pain in specific spot
- Decrease in range of motion (flexibility)
- Your joints start to deform
- Always feeling weak, tired and extremely fatigued
Please remember, arthritis symptoms are usually associated with a joint. Don't get it confused with muscles that surround the joint. A great example of this would be your back. Oftentimes the muscles that run top to bottom are the ones that cause the pain, not the vertebrae.
Six Most Common Arthritis Symptoms:
- Constant joint pain in several locations is a warning sign and should be investigated quickly. Age is not a factor in arthritis because we have a friend whose daughter is fighting arthritis at the tender age of 13. Like her father, she has specific pain in certain joints and has a difficult time playing sports. With the help of some awesome doctors at Children's hospital in Seattle, she is able to play a lot more than last year.
- Swelling, stiffness and redness are usually noticed in your hands and feet. This is a great indicator of arthritis and one that can be seen easily with the eye. Spouses are excellent at recognising this because they know you so well and see you everyday.
- Point tenderness usually makes you jump when someone touches this area. Again, don't confuse this with muscles because your joints are surrounded by muscle tissue. Sometimes the way you walk, will trigger this arthritis pain and sometimes it's simply contact with an object that creates that burning feeling.
- Decrease in range of motion (flexibility) is a normal process as we age. However, rapid loss of flexibility is not normal. Only you can detect the decrease in your range of motion and it is something you should (stretching) do daily to help all aspects of your body. A great self checker is trying to keep your legs straight and touch your toes. Go ahead and give it a try, how far can you make it?
- Your joints start to deform. Not much needs to be said about this, YOU will know if this happens. If you are a spouse please understand the person who is watching their body start to deform, is feeling lousy. They believe their body is failing them and could go into a mild case of depression. So be careful and help them understand what is going on.
- Always feeling weak, tired and extremely fatigued. This is a tougher one to detect because there are so many variables. Things like sickness, overwork or a couple of days working in the yard the first day of spring can make detection nearly impossible. What you should look for are these signs away from activity. Usually after a few days of recovery the body will heal itself, but in the case of arthritis it continues.
I sincerely hope these six arthritis symptoms are not a part of you. If they are, don't panic because there is a ton of help. I personally believe in healing yourself from the inside out, which includes three solid meals containing a lot of vegetables and fruits, lots of liquid and supplementation. Water will also make your kidneys very happy and hopefully you've never had kidney stones, they hurt.
Best wishes for a pain free week!