It is frightening when you have to visit a doctor.
The visit will always be shorter though if you can provide your doctor with specific details of your problems.
You must let him know when the problems began and if there are times of extreme pain.
Understanding these common arthritis symptoms will help you make an appointment with your doctor at the right time.
Generally speaking, the sooner your doctor knows about your problems, the sooner he can diagnose you and put you on a course of treatment.
Joint Pain This is the main symptom of arthritis.
Arthritis is the name for a condition with over 100 variations of inflammation of the joints.
Joints are the physical axels of your body and therefore you can experience joint pain in any joint of the body.
Wrists, ankles, hips, necks, fingers, knees and shoulders are some examples.
When the pain comes it is a pain that you will have never experienced before whilst doing the same actions in the past.
Everyday things like opening bottles could cause joint pain due to arthritis.
Joint Stiffness This is the second of the important arthritis symptoms to be aware of.
It manifests itself in limbs and joints that have never experienced pain before and are now refusing to move.
The actual condition can vary from a hand refusing to unwrap from a fist or a leg not being able to move.
You end up moving like a robot, in jerked movements, until the joints ease up throughout the day.
This symptom normally gets worse in colder weather.
Physical Joint Changes There are some less common arthritis symptoms which do not affect everyone who develops arthritis.
These can be the swelling of the aching places in your body along with a reddening or discolouration.
They are also painful to touch and very tender.
Other Tips To allow you to receive a full diagnosis and course of treatment, you will need to let your doctor know your full medical history including histories of siblings and parents.
If possible, get them to write down their own histories, especially anything that could be arthritis symptoms, and when the condition started.
Remember to thank them when they're done!