ARTHRITIS, RHEUMATOID

SYMPTOMS

Signs and symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis may include:

• Fatigue
• Joint pain
• Joint tenderness
• Joint swelling
• Joint redness
• Joint warmth
• Joint stiffness
• Loss of range of motion
• Limping
• Joint deformity
• Loss of joint function

Early rheumatoid arthritis tends to influence your smaller joints first, especially the joints that append your fingers to your hands and your toes to your feet.

As the disease advances, symptoms regularly spread to the wrists, knees, lower legs, elbows, hips and shoulders. Much of the time, symptoms  occur in similar joints on the two sides of your body.

DIAGNOSIS

Rheumatoid joint pain can be hard to diagnose in its beginning periods on the grounds that the early signs and symptoms imitate those of numerous different illnesses. There is no blood test or physical finding to affirm the diagnosis.

During the physical exam, your doctor will check your joints for swelling, redness and warmth. He or she may likewise check your reflexes and muscle strength.

Blood tests may be requested such as erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP), rheumatoid factor and anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP) antibodies.

Imaging tests may also be requested such as x-rays, MRI and ultrasound tests.

TREATMENT

There is no remedy for rheumatoid arthritis. However, ongoing studies show that resolution of symptoms is more probable when treatment starts early with medicines known as disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs).

If drugs fail to treat symptoms, your doctor may recommend surgery such as synovectomy, tendon repair, joint fusion or total joint replacement.