7 Signs of Arthritis You Shouldn’t Ignore
The headline is a little dramatic because joint pain doesn’t automatically mean arthritis. Arthritis includes many different conditions, and some symptoms require prompt assessment because they can indicate something other than ordinary wear-and-tear arthritis.
🦴 Signs worth getting checked
- Persistent joint pain — especially if it continues for weeks or interferes with normal activities or sleep.
- Joint stiffness, particularly stiffness lasting more than 30 minutes after waking. Longer-lasting morning stiffness can suggest inflammatory arthritis such as rheumatoid arthritis.
- Swelling around a joint — particularly if it keeps returning or progressively worsens.
- Warmth or redness over a painful joint — inflammation can cause this, but a hot, swollen joint can also be a sign of infection.
- Pain and stiffness in several joints, especially when both sides of the body are affected. This pattern can occur with rheumatoid arthritis.
- Reduced movement or difficulty with everyday activities — for example, trouble walking, climbing stairs, opening jars, or gripping objects. Osteoarthritis commonly causes pain, stiffness and reduced movement.
- Sudden, extremely painful swelling of one joint — particularly the big toe. This can occur with gout, but sudden severe pain and swelling can have other causes too.
