All the symptoms and signs of articular arthritis

The content of the article:

• The symptoms of reactive arthritis
• The symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis
• The symptoms of infectious arthritis [19659003] The symptoms of gouty arthritis
• The symptoms of psoriatic arthritis
• Conclusion

Arthritis is the most common pathology of joint structures. Depending on the cause of the development of the disease, there are 5 main forms: rheumatoid, reactive, infectious, gouty and psoriatic. The symptoms of arthritis and its manifestations in each specific case will depend precisely on the clinical variant of the disease.

The Symptoms of Reactive Arthritis

Reactive arthritis is an inflammatory, non-pigmentary disease that manifests itself after a previous acute urinary tract. or an intestinal infection. This pathology often affects young men.

The first signs are usually seen in the form of a general malaise: weakness, increased fatigue, headache. Sometimes there is an increase in the overall body temperature, which rarely exceeds the mark of 38 ° C.

Typical symptom of this form of the disease is an asymmetric lesion of the joints of the legs (for example, the ankle, knee or hip), which appears several days after nonspecific signs (that is to say, signs of a disease unrelated to joint lesions). Sometimes joints between the pelvic bones are involved in the pathological process. Often inflamed ligaments and tendons (eg, overcome the Achilles tendon). The pain has a different degree of severity, but it is rarely intense.

These symptoms may be accompanied in parallel with an inflammatory process in the organs of the genitourinary system. In this case, there is a constant urge to urinate (an urgent urge to urinate) – there may also be burning and tingling at this time.

Pain, irritation and redness of the eyes, as well as visual acuity, are associated with the appearance of conjunctivitis (the inflammatory process of the mucous membrane covering the eyelid and the eyeball), which may occur both before the appearance of joint lesions and at the same time.

Symptoms of Rheumatoid Arthritis

Arthritis (RA) is a chronic systemic disease whose symptoms result in a significant decrease in quality of life, mainly due to pain and changes in the shape of joints. This pathology often becomes a causal handicap.

Classical rheumatoid arthritis (which may be mistaken for rheumatoid arthritis) has rather characteristic symptoms:

1. The first signs are: swollen and inflamed, metacarpophalangeal joints of the major and the index . Often this is combined with a similar injury to the wrist joint.
2. Almost always in each case, the painful joints are symmetrical (that is to say the same, for example, on the right and left legs). worse at night, closer to the morning. It is quite intense until noon, then almost stops. If the pathology is in the initial stage, the pain occurs after physical exercises. But the feeling of relief is never long – after a few hours or in the morning a painful attack resumes.
3. Body stiffness in the morning, feeling of burst. The patient may complain of the "feeling of a lethargic body", of "tight gloves on the hands" or of a "tight corset on the body" – in other words, people describe their state. These feelings manifest 1-2 hours after waking up, but in the case of a serious illness, people can be disturbed throughout the day.
4. Often, with inflamed joints of the hands, the small joints of the feet are also affected. , which are at the base of the fingers. The process is also symmetrical. Upon examination, the patient observes pain by pressing the toe pads.
5. If the disease progresses, inflammation passes to larger joints (eg, knee, shoulder, elbow or ankle). But it happens that at an early stage the calcaneus tendons and larger joints become inflamed, and then the process spreads to the feet and to the brushes – this form of the disease often manifests itself in the elderly.
6. There are rheumatoid ganglia – small formations under the skin in areas where elbows, hands and feet are bent. These nodules can constantly change size, then disappear, then reappear, and sometimes do not change over the years. They cause no sensation, simply create an aesthetic defect.
7. With the stage of development of the disease, the symptoms intensify, a strong deformation of the hands and fingers occurs. There may be such a violation, when the hands and fingers start to deviate outwards, and the fixed hand in the wrong position – because of this, the mobility in the wrist joints decreases. As a result, the blood circulation and innervation of the hands are broken: they appear pale, muscle atrophy appears.

   * Innervations – the connection of organs and tissues with the central nervous system through the nerves.

8. The disease is accompanied by recurring signs of intoxication of the body, which include the following symptoms: weakness, chills, weakness, weight loss, deterioration of appetite, increase temperature at 38.5 ° C
9. Over time, the disease affects all joint surfaces. The larger ones can become inflamed without significant discomfort, but their mobility is noticeably worse.
10. A Baker's cyst may appear, a symptom that occurs when an extra fluid accumulates in the knee capsule, which stretches it. If this liquid is very high, it can lead to the rupture of the cystic formation. As a result, the fluid impregnates the tissues on the posterior surface of the tibia, painful and swollen sensations appear in this region.

There may be other signs that accompany rheumatoid arthritis:

• inflammation of the salivary glands, [19659003] numbness of the limbs,
• carvings in the eyes,
• pain in the chest during breathing.

Rheumatoid arthritis of the joints differs from rheumatism in that the inflammatory process is more persistent, because the painful sensations and swelling of the tissues can be disturbing for many years. The disease differs from osteoarthritis in that the feelings of pain do not increase with exercise, but on the contrary – they disappear after active exercises.

Symptoms of infectious arthritis

An infectious variant of the disease, pyogen, is a serious infectious disease. It is based on the penetration of microorganisms into joint structures with subsequent active inflammation of the latter. This condition requires urgent medical attention.

The most common signs of arthritis are of infectious origin:

• A sharp start. In rare cases – the gradual increase and intensification of symptoms for three weeks (for example, the disease occurs in infants).
• Symptoms of intoxication: fever (usually greater than 38.5 ° C), chills, muscle pain, headache. Young children may have vomiting or nausea
• Highly expressed swelling of the affected joint, constantly increasing and causing a change in its shape
• The knee, elbow, shoulder, hip wrists and joints most often affected. 19659003] Increased pain during movement. For example, when the hip is affected, the pain passes into the groin and intensifies when walking.
• The movement becomes limited, and the position of the limb is forced: so that the pain is felt the least.
• in the area above the affected joint (hot skin).
• In the elderly, the symptoms may be more worn, and in young children, on the contrary – the clinic is very turbulent.

Symptoms of gouty arthritis [19659010] Gout – a disease associated with a metabolic disorder and accumulation in the body of excessive amounts of uric acid salts. As a rule, the disease affects the joint tissues.

The following symptoms are characteristic of this form of the disease:

• The sudden onset of a painful attack, most often at night and after a significant error in the diet – [19659003] Most often, the first joint of the big toe is affected, the knee or elbow is rarely inflamed.
• The area of ​​the lesion turns red, swollen, touching it causes intense pain.
• Rapid resolution of the attack. Even without treatment, all clinical manifestations disappear after a few days.
• The general condition of the patient is not seriously disturbed, the body temperature does not increase.

The symptoms of psoriatic arthritis

The psoriatic variant of the disease develops in the context of a specific lesion of the skin and nails. It can affect absolutely any joint in the human body, but most often its manifestations are in the fingers of the hand.

The inflammation in the common tissues develops gradually, with swelling and redness of the affected areas (with the involvement of the fingers, they look like "sausages"), as well as the a local increase in temperature. In the initial stages, pain and limitation of mobility are not characteristic. As the process progresses in the morning, a stiffness of movements appears, which disappears during the first hour. The inflammation can also spread to the periarticular structures, causing damage to the tendons and ligaments.

The joint manifestations of the disease accompany the appearance on the skin and scalp of scaly red spots, itching and discomfort.

In addition to the common forms of arthritis considered in this article, there are more rare variants of it: for example, idiopathic, endocrine. More information about them, see the section "Arthritis".

As we see, arthritis is a serious illness with a variety of manifestations. A disease is important for timely diagnosis, and treatment should be done under the direction of qualified specialists. Self-medication can lead to serious complications or even disability.