Bay Area Medical Information (BAMI.us)
Osteoarthritis Symptoms and Diagnosis
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Symptoms
Symptoms can range from stiffness and mild pain that comes and goes, to severe joint pain and disability.  OA often affects the joints of the fingers and wrists and the large weight-bearing joints of the knees and hips and vertebrae, but it can affect any joint in the body.  Symptoms of arthritis are:
  • Swelling in one or more joints
  • Stiffness of the joints that lasts for at least 1 hour in the early morning
  • Warmth and redness of a joint
  • Constant or recurring pain or tenderness in a joint. The pain may occur during activity or afterwards.  Changes in the weather can also worsen the pain.  Mild osteoarthritis pain can be minimal and may completely resolve but is likely to recur when the joint is overused.
  • Decreased flexibility of the joint resulting in difficulty using or moving a joint normally
  • Deformity of the joint can eventually occur
Diagnosis
XrayThe doctor will ask questions about the history of your symptoms and do a physical exam. To assess cartilage erosion, doctors routinely rely on measurement of the joint space width using Xrays.  Currently there are no blood tests that reveal the presence of osteoarthritis, however the doctor may order further lab tests to rule-out other types of arthritis.

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Written by N Thompson, ARNP, MSN, reviewed by M Thompson, MD, Internal Medicine, last updated October 2006
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