Arthritis Pain No More

With the fact that there are over 100 forms of arthritis, you can imagine that the symptoms of arthritis are many and varied as well.  Common symptoms include joint pain, tenderness in the joints, inflammation or swelling of joints, stiffness and redness, joint deformity, or a loss of range of motion or flexibility.

Doctors generally need to assess a patient’s medical history and perform a physical examination before diagnosing arthritis.  They may also do laboratory tests and x-rays.  Stiffness and swelling around a joint for longer than two weeks indicates a visit to the doctor is a good idea, if he or she can determine if the symptoms indicate arthritis.

Doctors also need to determine which type of arthritis is present, so they may prescribe proper medication or treatment.  Arthritis symptoms may come and go over time, and can even take the form of depression, fatigue, or muscle ache.

Some other symptoms may include difficulty functioning in one’s normal daily tasks due to joint pain or loss of motion.  If normal activities like getting out of bed, standing and sitting, climbing stairs, or attending to personal hygiene become difficult, see a doctor.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 26th, 2008 at 1:09 pm and is filed under Arthritis Symptoms. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.