Your knee feels sore and stiff when you wake up in the morning. After an hour of creaking and groaning, it finally decides to loosen up for the rest of the day. The pattern repeats itself the next day. And the next. At this point, you have two choices: Put up with the pain or get some help for your arthritis.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an estimated 54 million Americans have been diagnosed with arthritis with 22.2% of those numbers directly relating to Blacks.
Unfortunately, not all of them take quick action. People who try to deal with arthritis on their own are missing out on excellent opportunities for relief. Today’s treatments can ease symptoms and help people get back to life as usual.
Any delay in treatment is especially harmful to people with rheumatoid arthritis. As reported in the journal Best Practice and Research Clinical Rheumatology, early treatment of rheumatoid arthritis can slow down joint damage, prevent disabilities, and even prolong lives.
With so much at stake, everyone should know the warning signs of arthritis — a term that actually describes 100 rheumatic diseases and conditions that affect joints and the tissues around them.
Here’s a look at the early symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis as well as osteoarthritis, the most common form of the disease.
If these symptoms sound familiar, promptly schedule an appointment with your family doctor, who will examine you, order medical tests, prescribe medications, and possibly refer you to a rheumatologist if your evaluation suggests that you have rheumatoid arthritis.
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Rheumatoid arthritis
Inflamed joints are the hallmark of rheumatoid arthritis. The inflammation makes joints swollen, sore, stiff, and possibly warm to the touch. The stiffness is most obvious in the morning, but often fades after an hour or so. The adult form of rheumatoid arthritis always affects