Читать книгу Arthritis For Dummies - Barry Fox - Страница 41

Don’t assume that you have osteoarthritis just because you have one or more of the following symptoms. Get a thorough examination and diagnosis from a qualified physician. Figure 2-2 shows you the most common sites affected by osteoarthritis.

How do you know if the joint pain you’re suffering from is due to osteoarthritis? Most of those with the disease have at least one of the following symptoms:

 Joint pain: Most people experience joint pain as a deep-seated ache radiating from the inner core of the joint. The feeling is distinctly different from a muscular ache and may come and go according to changes in the weather. (“I can feel it in my bones that it’s going to rain.”) The pain typically increases as the joint is used and eases off with joint rest. As the disease worsens, though, the pain can become fairly steady. If joint pain occurs during the night, poor sleep and next-day fatigue may be two unpleasant side effects.© John Wiley & Sons, Inc.FIGURE 2-2: The neck, lower back, knees, hips, ends of the fingers, and the base of the thumbs are the sites most commonly affected by osteoarthritis.Some people really can feel it in their joints when it’s going to rain, because as the barometric pressure falls, the lining of an arthritic joint can become inflamed, causing pain and the release of excess fluid (swelling).

 Stiffness and loss of movement: Stiff joints, limited range of motion, and, in later stages, joints that freeze into a bent position are all signs of osteoarthritis.

 Tenderness, warmth, and swelling around the joint: Although swelling is not usually a big problem with osteoarthritis, some joints do swell in response to cartilage damage and irritation, especially if they’ve been overused. The finger joints and the knees are most often affected.

 “Cracking” joints: If you hear popping or crunching sounds when you move a joint, you may have osteoarthritis. These cracking sounds (doctors call them crepitus) can be created by roughened cartilage. (This isn’t the same thing as “cracking” your joints by applying pressure to them, which causes a harmless release of nitrogen bubbles and isn’t associated with OA.)

 Bony growths on the fingers: Bony lumps, either at the ends of the fingers (called Heberden’s nodes) or on the middle joint of the fingers (called Bouchard’s nodes) are signs of osteoarthritis. These types of bony growths may be hereditary.