Pain And Stiffness - Diagnosing Arthritis: Arthritis Keeping Your Joints Healthy

Content provided by the Faculty of the Harvard Medical School

Pain and stiffness

In rheumatic diseases, pain and stiffness go hand in hand. Pain is a subjective experience that's often difficult for people to describe, quantify, or even pinpoint. Chronic arthritis produces aching pain when the affected joints are moved, as opposed to burning or prickling pain unrelated to motion that typifies neurologic disorders. Most people can describe the location of pain in small joints, such as the hands or feet. However, with large joints, the pain is generally more diffuse and may radiate, making it difficult to pinpoint. For example, hip arthritis may cause pain in the groin, thighs, buttocks, or even knees.

People often describe vague muscle aches as stiffness, but rheumatologists use the term more specifically for joint discomfort when a person attempts to move: Stiffness is the tendency of a joint not to move easily and may be prominent even when joint pain is not. The duration of stiffness in the morning or after any period of inactivity can help doctors distinguish osteoarthritis from rheumatoid arthritis and other types of arthritis.

Mild morning stiffness is common in osteoarthritis and resolves after a few minutes of activity. Sometimes people with osteoarthritis notice more stiffness during the day after resting for an hour or so. In rheumatoid arthritis, however, morning stiffness may not begin to improve for an hour or longer. Occasionally, morning stiffness is the first symptom of rheumatoid arthritis.

The nature and duration of your joint symptoms can be helpful. For example, pain and stiffness that develop gradually and intermittently over several months or years suggest osteoarthritis. Rheumatoid arthritis or another inflammatory arthritis may cause pain, stiffness, and fatigue that worsen over several weeks or a few months. In contrast, sudden pain is more likely to be due to an injury or fracture, and pain that intensifies over several hours is typical of bacterial infection or gout.

Last updated:	September 05, 2008