How can you tell if you have rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis?

People with either OA or RA may have pain that's mild to severe, and difficulty moving affected joints. While people with OA may have morning stiffness that lasts fewer than 30 minutes, it lasts longer for people with RA. RA may also cause other uncomfortable symptoms such as fever and fatigue.

How do I know if I have rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis?

Disease Onset

Osteoarthritis tends to develop gradually over several years, as the joint cartilage wears away. Eventually the bones of your joints rub against each other. In contrast, the pain and stiffness of rheumatoid arthritis can develop and worsen over several weeks or a few months.

Which is worse -- rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis?

The two conditions can cause similar symptoms, but they have different causes and treatments. OA usually affects fewer joints, and its symptoms are generally limited to the joints. The progression of RA is more difficult to predict, and it can cause more widespread symptoms.

Can an xray show the difference between osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis?

Can an X-ray show the difference between osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis? X-rays are a helpful tool for figuring out joint pain. Joints in RA look different than joints in OA. For example, there's less space between the bones in OA, and there is more bone erosion in RA.

What is the main difference between osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis?

Osteoarthritis, the most common form of arthritis, involves the wearing away of the cartilage that caps the bones in your joints. Rheumatoid arthritis is a disease in which the immune system attacks the joints, beginning with the lining of joints.

What is the most painful type of arthritis?

Rheumatoid arthritis can be one of the most painful types of arthritis; it affects joints as well as other surrounding tissues, including organs. This inflammatory, autoimmune disease attacks healthy cells by mistake, causing painful swelling in the joints, like hands, wrists and knees.

What does RA pain feel like?

A person with RA may feel intense pain in their joints during flares. This may feel like sustained pressure, a burning sensation, or a sharp pain. However, people with RA may also experience periods of remission when they feel few to no symptoms. In addition to causing pain in the joints, RA can affect the whole body.

How do I know what type of arthritis I have?

Do a physical exam. Your doctor will check for swollen joints, tenderness, redness, warmth, or loss of motion in the joints. Use imaging tests like X-rays. These can often tell what kind of arthritis you have.

What are the 4 stages of osteoarthritis?

What test shows osteoarthritis?

Two types of medical imaging commonly used to diagnose osteoarthritis are x-rays and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI): X-rays can show how much space is between a joint's bones, indicating whether there has been a loss of cartilage.

Does osteoarthritis hurt all the time?

Osteoarthritis is a degenerative disease that worsens over time, often resulting in chronic pain. Joint pain and stiffness can become severe enough to make daily tasks difficult. Depression and sleep disturbances can result from the pain and disability of osteoarthritis.

Is there a test for rheumatoid arthritis?

Doctors typically perform both a rheumatoid factor (RF) test and an anti-CCP test when evaluating a person they suspect may have rheumatoid arthritis. A positive result for either test indicates a higher risk for RA, and that risk is increased when both tests are positive.

What blood test shows rheumatoid arthritis?

A related blood test known as anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP) test is also available. Anti-CCPs are antibodies also produced by the immune system. People who test positive for anti-CCP are very likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis, but not everybody with rheumatoid arthritis has this antibody.

Which arthritis is worse in the morning?

Pain. The joint pain associated with rheumatoid arthritis is usually a throbbing and aching pain. It is often worse in the mornings and after a period of inactivity.

Which arthritis gets better with movement?

Stage 1: Early RA

The stiffness gets better with movement, which differentiates it from osteoarthritis, the “wear-and-tear” degenerative kind. Ideally at this point you'd see a specialist called a rheumatologist.

Can a person have both osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis?

Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis: Is It Possible to Have Both? It is possible to have both OA and RA. A previous joint injury can lead to both diseases, but OA is more likely to develop as you age. Likewise, as people with RA age, they are at risk of getting OA.

What should you not do with osteoarthritis?

Avoid inflammatory foods including sugar, deep-fried foods, saturated fats, full-fat dairy, trans fats, refined carbohydrates, alcohol, and preservatives like MSG. Anti-inflammatory foods can relieve pain from osteoarthritis. These include fruits, vegetables, lean protein, omega-3 fatty acids, and whole grains.

What causes osteoarthritis to flare up?

The most common triggers of an OA flare are overdoing an activity or trauma to the joint. Other triggers can include bone spurs, stress, repetitive motions, cold weather, a change in barometric pressure, an infection or weight gain.

Does walking worsen osteoarthritis?

Should I give up or still do it? A) This is quite a dilemma. On the one hand you have osteoarthritis of the back and hips, and power walking on hard surfaces is likely to aggravate it. On the other hand you have early osteoporosis, and weight bearing exercise is recommended to delay further bone loss.

What are the five signs of rheumatoid arthritis?

What are 5 symptoms of arthritis?

Does osteoarthritis show up in blood work?

There is no blood test for the diagnosis of osteoarthritis. Blood tests are performed to exclude diseases that can cause secondary osteoarthritis, as well as to exclude other arthritis conditions that can mimic osteoarthritis. X-rays of the affected joints are the main way osteoarthritis is identified.

What are usually the first signs of rheumatoid arthritis?

What are 3 symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis?

Does rheumatoid arthritis hurt all day?

In addition to pain, this disease causes stiffness in the affected joints. You may have difficulty getting out of bed or walking in the morning because of stiff and painful ankles, knees, or feet. This stiffness is usually worse in the mornings and can last for 45 minutes or more.