Arthritis Symptoms in Knee
Have you heard one of your friends bemoan the fact that his knees are shot? Many middle-aged and elderly people suffer from degenerative joint disease, which is also called osteoarthritis. When a person has sustained years of wear and tear on his knees, the joint cartilage, which is gradually worn down to bare bone within the joint, is exposed.
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Deformed Legs and Knees
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One of the eventual and unfortunate outcomes of arthritic knees is a change in the appearance of the knees and legs. A person's legs may begin to look bowed and the knees may become knock-kneed.
Identification
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One of the symptoms of arthritic knees is the sensation that the knee joint is going to give out at any second. Fortunately, most of the time this doesn't happen, but the giving out sensation is an indicator of a ligament injury. The ligaments provide stability to the knee. They are connected to the shin bone and the thigh bone. When ligaments are torn or stretched, a person may experience the feeling that her knee is about to give out.
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Your Knees Can't Bend
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If your knees are afflicted with arthritis, you will notice that your range of motion becomes severely limited. You may reach the point where you can't bend your knees at all. It's not difficult to assess who is suffering from arthritic knees; you can tell by watching people walk. They become stiff and lose their knee flexibilities. They struggle to sit down and stand up. Walking up and down stairs are painful experiences.
Swelling and Tenderness
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An arthritic knee will swell noticeably and will be tender to the touch. There is pain, sometimes intense, associated with osteoarthritis.
Rheumatoid Arthritis
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If you are suffering from rheumatoid arthritis, both of your knees will be affected, and not just one, as may be the case if you have osteoarthritis. It can disfigure your hands and your feet and anywhere else that it strikes. Symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis are joint inflammation, stiffness, pain and deformity. Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease and can strike other organs, as well as your joints. Many who suffer from this condition report suffering from morning stiffness, horrible fatigue and even fever.
With rheumatoid arthritis, there is bilateral symmetry, meaning that if one hand is affected, both will be. This is not the case with osteoarthritis. A doctor can determine if you have rheumatoid arthritis by doing a blood test. If you have positive rheumatoid factor, elevated sedrate and CRP and anemia, then you have it. X-rays can show bone spurs, which are evidence that you have osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis attacks the joints, but not the organs, as rheumatoid does. There are 2 million rheumatoid sufferers in the United States and 21 million osteoarthritis sufferers.
Grinding
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A grinding sound in your knees indicates that bone is coming into contact with bone, which indicates that the cartilage has been worn away.
Locked-Up Knees
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A knee can actually lock up. If cartilage gets wedged within a joint, this can cause the knee to literally lock up. Other symptoms of arthritic knees, according to HipsandKnees.com, include creaking, catching and limping because it hurts to walk.
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