Symptoms Of Osteoarthritis - Osteoarthritis: Arthritis

Content provided by the Faculty of the Harvard Medical School

Symptoms of osteoarthritis

The symptoms of osteoarthritis usually develop over many years. Often, people first experience pain after engaging in strenuous activity or overusing a joint. The joint may be stiff in the morning, but after a few minutes of movement, it loosens up. Gradually, this stiffness becomes a routine part of waking up.

Cartilage is insensitive to pain, but the soft tissue in the joints is not. As more cartilage is worn away, soft tissue becomes increasingly irritated, even by slight movement. Some people have continual joint pain that interferes with sleep. Or the joint may be mildly tender, and movement may produce crepitus, a sensation of crackling or grating. In addition, gradual joint enlargement may interfere with normal mobility. Swelling may also occur as synovial tissues become irritated, or when inflammation develops. Although inflammation is not a cardinal feature of osteoarthritis, it does sometimes occur. Pain usually occurs in the affected joint, although it may extend elsewhere.

When osteoarthritis affects the knee, the result is pain, swelling, and stiffness of that joint. What starts out as some discomfort after a period of disuse can progress to difficulty walking, climbing, bathing, and getting in and out of bed.

Osteoarthritis of the hand often starts with stiffness and soreness of the joint at the base of the thumb, particularly in the morning. You may find it becomes harder to pinch, and your joints crackle when moved. As the condition worsens, the pain at the base of your thumb can become more of a problem, and your ability to pinch decreases even further. The entire area may seem unstable. People with osteoarthritis of the hand may eventually find it impossible to open jars, turn a key, write, or type. Many people with osteoarthritis of the hand find that, with age, their hands thicken and become stiff. Stiffness is gradually followed by pain or instability. In other people, the pain and stiffness of hand osteoarthritis may subside over time, despite marked bony enlargement typical of the disease.

Radiating pain is often the most striking feature of hip and spine osteoarthritis. When osteoarthritis affects your hip, you may feel pain in the groin or down the inside thigh, or pain may radiate to your buttocks or knee. Osteoarthritis of the cervical spine (neck) may cause pain in your shoulders and arms. In the lower spine, osteophytes may impinge on adjacent nerves and send pain radiating to your buttocks or legs.

For most people, osteoarthritis develops gradually. Pain and stiffness in affected joints may slowly worsen, but most people are able to lead normal lives.

Last updated:	September 05, 2008