Understanding If You Have Arthritis
Arthritis is a common medical condition that causes inflammation and stiffness in the joints. As it progresses, arthritis leads to chronic joint pain, tenderness, swelling, and decreased range of motion. There are over 100 types of arthritis, with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis being the most prevalent. Determining if you have arthritis can be confusing given the wide range of symptoms and types of arthritis.
Common Signs of Arthritis
Some of the most common arthritis symptoms include:
- Joint pain, swelling, and stiffness
- Reduced range of motion in the joints
- Joint tenderness and warmth to the touch
- Cracking or grating sound when a joint is moved
- Fatigue, lack of energy, and weakness
The joint symptoms tend to develop slowly over time. You may first notice pain or stiffness in one joint that seems to come and go. As arthritis progresses, more joints become affected and the symptoms become more persistent.
Major Types of Arthritis
The two most common types of arthritis are:
- Osteoarthritis - causes cartilage breakdown and bone spur formation in the joints. It most often affects the knees, hips, hands, and spine.
- Rheumatoid arthritis - an autoimmune condition where the immune system attacks joint tissue. It leads to very painful joint inflammation and can damage organs.
Other types of inflammatory arthritis include psoriatic arthritis, gout, and septic arthritis. Joint pain can also be caused by non-arthritic conditions like fibromyalgia, bursitis, strains, sprains, and tendinitis.
Quizzes To Check If You Have Arthritis
Online screening quizzes can provide insight into whether your symptoms may be caused by arthritis. They ask a series of questions about the specific locations of joint pain, types of symptoms, family history, and duration of problems. Based on the responses, it determines if arthritis is likely or unlikely.
CDC Arthritis Quiz
The CDC offers a basic online arthritis quiz consisting of "yes" or "no" questions. It asks if you have common arthritis symptoms like joint pain, swelling, stiffness and difficulty with physical activities.
Based on the number of "yes" responses, it categorizes your likelihood of having arthritis as low, medium or high. This simple screening can give a preliminary indication if arthritis may be causing the symptoms.
Johns Hopkins Arthritis Center Quiz
Johns Hopkins Arthritis Center provides a more comprehensive 22-question quiz that gives a percentage rating for risk of certain types of arthritis.
The quiz asks details about areas of joint pain, family history, physical symptoms, medical history, and results of blood tests if available. Based on this info, it calculates if you likely have osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia or lupus.
Arthritis Foundation Joint Pain Quiz
On the Arthritis Foundation site, you can take a quiz focused specifically on joint pain causes. It asks multiple choice questions about your areas of pain, activities affecting it, and timing of symptom onset.
After finishing the 7 questions, it provides information on what may be causing the pain - whether osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, or non-arthritic joint issues.
Getting An Accurate Arthritis Diagnosis
While online screening quizzes give a general indication if arthritis could be causing symptoms, an accurate diagnosis requires medical tests and evaluation by a doctor.
To confirm if and what type of arthritis you have, the doctor does a medical history review and physical examination of all your joints. They check for inflammation, swelling, redness and range of motion problems.
Imaging Tests Used To Diagnose Arthritis
If arthritis is suspected, doctors can use imaging scans to look at bone and cartilage damage in the joints:
- X-rays - Helpful for identifying bone spurs and narrowing joint space indicating cartilage loss
- MRI scans - Provides detailed images of bone and soft tissues around joints
- Ultrasounds - Allows doctors to see problems with tendons, ligaments and other structures
Blood Tests Check for Inflammatory Markers
Doctors often order blood tests looking for signs of inflammation and antibodies associated with arthritis types:
- Rheumatoid factor - High levels indicate greater risk of rheumatoid arthritis
- Anti-CCP - Antibodies targeting certain proteins can mean rheumatoid arthritis
- C-reactive protein (CRP) - Higher amounts typically reflect inflammation level
- Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) - Another test quantifying inflammation
Based on all the evaluation results, specialists can determine which specific type of arthritis is causing symptoms.
Getting Ongoing Arthritis Care
Accurate diagnosis of arthritis leads to appropriate medical care to relieve pain, improve joint mobility, slow disease progression and help you remain active. This may include:
- Medications like NSAIDs, DMARDs, steroids or biologics
- Occupational therapy to reduce strain on joints
- Braces, splints, hot/cold treatments
- Physical therapy and exercise regimens
- Joint replacement or other surgery if damage is severe
- Lifestyle changes - weight loss, pacing activities, assistive devices
With close management of arthritis and symptoms, most people are able to well control their condition and continue enjoying daily activities.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult with a healthcare professional before starting any new treatment regimen.
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