What are the signs and symptoms of Rheumatoid Arthritis?
A person with Rheumatoid Arthritis can start getting symptoms at least ten years before having extreme joint stiffness and pain. It is a slow process of joint destruction, therefore unless the damage is significant, people don’t realize they could be suffering from this disease.
The most common symptom is noted to be joint pain and stiffness. This joint stiffness is usually experienced in the morning, which is one of the important features of this disease. Some individuals feel pain throughout the day, however, some have an episodic pattern of pain.
Almost all cases of Rheumatoid Arthritis complain of pain in the small joints of the body, including; fingers and toes.
When individuals attend a doctor’s clinic, pressure is applied to their painful joints and checked for a gritty feeling while palpating. Most people also mimic symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome whenever their wrist joint is involved. In later stages of the disease, the presenting symptoms differ, with their hand deviated more towards the ulnar side, subluxation of the finger joints, and swan neck deformity of the fingers of the hand. There are also nodules and ulcerations noted on the surface of the skin attached directly on top of the bone; such as the olecranon.
