Arthritis Symptoms in Legs

Arthritis, in the simplest terms, can be defined as the inflammation of one or several joints. It is one of the most common chronic diseases in the world. There are several types of Arthritis, like rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis, etc. Let us a have a look at the causes of arthritis.

Causes of Arthritis
Arthritis can be caused due to numerous reasons, but, increasing age is the most common cause of arthritis. Apart from age, excess weight and genetics are also important causes of arthritis. Injury, trauma, illness or infection in the joints can also result in arthritis. Sometimes, abnormal metabolism and over active immune system can also cause arthritis. In rare cases, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis is also found in children. What are the symptoms of arthritis? Let us have a look.

Arthritis Symptoms in Legs
Pain in the legs is one of the most common and prominent symptoms of arthritis in legs. Nearly all the types of arthritis have leg pain as their common symptom. Apart from leg pain, the following are the symptoms that are seen in arthritis.

Pain: Joint pain in the arms and legs is the most prominent symptom of arthritis. This pain may be dull or severe depending upon the advancement and type of arthritis. In most cases, arthritis pain in legs gets severe when the person wakes up after a night's sleep, gets up or bends his leg and arms.

Stiffness: Stiffness in nearly all the joints of the body like the arms, legs, fingers and wrists is also one of the most common arthritis symptoms in legs. Similar to the arthritis pain, stiffness is seen when a person wakes up after a night's sleep. As the leg is not mobilized all night, it stiffens in the morning and the stiffening lasts for nearly an hour.

Swelling: Painful swelling is yet another symptom of arthritis in the legs. All the signs of inflammation are observed in arthritis, like swelling and also warmness in the joints. Among all the other arthritis symptoms in legs, swelling is the only one that is easily noticeable, and hence can help in recognizing the disease quickly.

Other Arthritis in Legs Symptoms
Along with these major symptoms, one can also observe other arthritis symptoms in legs. Fever followed by chills and tenderness in the joints are the other symptoms of arthritis. Due to the pain and swelling, a person suffering from arthritis faces difficulty in walking. In case of children, symptoms related to arthritis like loss of appetite, weight loss and anemia are also observed. It has also been observed that a child develop rashes on the joints when suffering from juvenile arthritis. Read more on early symptoms of arthritis.

Treatment of Arthritis
If a person experiences the above mentioned symptoms due to any unknown cause, he should consult the doctor to check for the possibility of arthritis. Similarly, if frequent leg pain or stiffness that worsens as time passes is observed, one should consult the doctor. The doctor may ask the person to undertake blood tests or X-ray in order to confirm the presence of arthritis. The swelling in the joints may not be noticed in the X-ray in the initial stage, but can be found in a more advanced stage. Similarly, advanced techniques like an MRI can be used to determine the presence of arthritis.

One should remember that there is no cure for rheumatoid arthritis. But there certainly are medications that help in relieving the pain. Therefore, once arthritis is diagnosed, the doctor may prescribe you anti-inflammatory drugs to ease the pain and also the swelling. Physiotherapy can also be effectively used to improve the movements of the joints and prevent stiffness.

Read more on:

• Arthritis Treatment
• Arthritis Diet

One should remember to not to ignore arthritis symptoms in legs; but to report it to the physician as soon as possible. The earlier it it treated, the faster the patient will get relief, and also prevent the condition from getting too bad.