Pain and stiffness
Pain is a subjective experience, one you may find it difficult to describe, quantify, or even pinpoint. Chronic arthritis produces aching pain when the affected joints are moved, as opposed to the burning or prickling pain unrelated to motion that typifies nerve disorders such as diabetic neuropathy. Most people can describe the location of pain in small joints, such as the hands or feet. However, with large joints, the pain is generally more diffuse, and may radiate, making it difficult to say where it originates. For example, hip arthritis can cause pain in the groin, thighs, or buttocks.
In addition to joint pain—or even without pain— you may experience stiffness. Rheumatologists define stiffness as the tendency of a joint not to move easily.
The duration of stiffness in the morning or after any period of inactivity can help doctors distinguish OA from rheumatoid arthritis and other types of arthritis. Mild morning stiffness is common in OA and resolves after a few minutes of activity. The same is true for stiffness after periods of rest. In rheumatoid arthritis, however, morning stiffness and stiffness after rest often lasts 30 minutes or longer.
To understand the intensity of your pain, your doctor may ask you to rate it according to a pain scale (see Figure 6). In addition, they will want to know about the nature and duration of your symptoms. Pain and stiffness that develop gradually and intermittently over several months or years suggest OA. By contrast, rheumatoid arthritis or another type of inflammatory arthritis may cause pain, stiffness, and fatigue that worsen in as little as several weeks or a few months. Sudden pain over a day or two is more likely a result of injury or fracture, and pain that intensifies over several hours is typical of bacterial infection or gout.