As we get older, aches and pains are normal. Joint aches in knees, neck and arms are most common in the process of aging. But continuous and harsh pain in your finger bones, hips and knees are to be taken care of. It may be the symptoms of arthritis. You probably know what does arthritis feel like if you are already the victim. Millions of people in the United States of America have the most common problem of arthritis.
What Does Arthritis Feel Like?
Arthritis usually targets the musculoskeletal system. During arthritis, you lose the cartilage in your bones. This loss of cartilage causes swelling as your body releases a fluid called synovium which takes place of your lost cartilage. The signs and symptoms given by arthritis are so slow and steady that you may never figure out about the disease.
Mostly, if you experience swelling and pain in your joints, you might be an arthritis patient. As for what does arthritis feel like, let’s talk about the two most common form of arthritis. Here is what we acknowledged from the experienced about how arthritis actually feels like.
Osteoarthritis
The most common form of arthritis is osteoarthritis. The pain caused by arthritis is specific. You will never notice how the flexibility in your joints and muscles diminish with time. So, you need to figure out how frequently you feel the pain in your joints, how much pain does it give you and how much the pain affects you in your daily activities. Osteoarthritis usually affects the larger joints such as hips and lower back. You might have a hard time moving the joints early in the morning. Following are some of the common signs that you might be suffering from osteoarthritis.
• You feel a light pain in the morning and the pain intensifies throughout the day.
• You feel the pain deep inside the joint and muscles.
• You might notice that the pain is affecting your posture.
• You might experience swelling.
• You might not be able to exercise or perform any sort of activities properly.
• You feel the pain flowing through your hip flexors to your thighs.
• You feel less pain with sufficient amount of rest.
• You feel stiffness in your muscles and bones when running down the stairs or when you bend your spinal.
• You feel your pain more intensified during cold and rainy weather.
Rheumatoid Arthritis
This form of arthritis may also affect other organs other than muscles and joints. Initially, smaller joints like in the fingers and toes are targeted first. It is chronic in comparison to osteoarthritis and may result in dysfunction. Being a chronic disease, with time, this form of arthritis may affect several bones around knees, arms, fingers and hips. Rheumatoid arthritis has some unique symptoms that you may never figure out if the pain you are experiencing is associated with arthritis. Some symptoms can be illustrated as:
• You may experience a slight fever with pain in the joints.
• Joints become tender and warm.
• You feel exhausted without much physical activity.
• You might feel intense pain after being isolated constantly.
• You feel the pain unexpectedly. Something like you feel no pain for an instant and the next moment, the pain intensifies without any hint.
• Almost every muscle of your body feels the pain.
• Dramatic loss of weight and appetite.
• Your pain spreads from smaller joints like fingers, wrists, ankles and feet to your knees, hips, shoulders and elbows.
• Stiffness is usually worst in the morning and can last for an hour or more.
• Several joints in the areas around knees, neck, shoulder, elbows are targeted.
• With time, the pain progresses and affects almost every joints and muscles.
