Have Some Easy Breakfasts On Hand
Overnight oats are my favorite breakfast. You put all the ingredients together in a jar the night before, cover it with plastic wrap, and let it sit in the fridge overnight. There are tons of yummy recipes online. Having an easy healthy breakfast that doesnt have to be cooked makes my mornings much smoother. Catherine K.
Causes Of Morning Stiffness From Arthritis
Feeling stiff when you first wake up in the morning is a common problem associated with arthritis. Morning stiffness causes you to hurt all over as you get out of bed. As you take your first steps, your joints and muscles ache so much, you want to crawl right back into bed. In fact, morning stiffness can be the most severe pain you feel all day and it can impair or interfere with your ability to function and perform routine tasks and activities of daily living.
Paying attention to the duration of your morning stiffness will help both you and your healthcare provider decide how to deal with it. Morning stiffness that lasts more than an hour and in some cases up to several hours is characteristic of rheumatoid arthritis or other inflammatory types of arthritis. Morning stiffness that is less prolonged is more likely to be osteoarthritis or another non-inflammatory, musculoskeletal condition. In spite of having a regular treatment regimen, morning stiffness is a persistent problem for many people with arthritis.
How Is Arthritis Diagnosed
It’s important to find out if you have arthritis and what type it is because treatments vary for each type. Early diagnosis and treatment are important to help slow or prevent joint damage that can occur during the first few years for several types.
Only a doctor can tell if you have arthritis and what type it is. When you see your doctor for the first time about arthritis, expect at least three things to happen. Your doctor will ask questions about your symptoms examine you and take some tests or X-rays.
You can help your doctor by writing down information about your symptoms before your appointment. Bring your answers when you see your doctor.
Arthritis may limit how far or how easily you can move a joint. Your doctor may move the joint that hurts or ask you to move it. This is to see how far the joint moves through its normal range of motion. Your doctor may also check for swelling, tender points, skin rashes or problems with other parts of your body.
Finally your doctor may conduct some laboratory tests. These may include tests of your blood, muscles, urine or joint fluid. They also may include X-rays or scans of your body. The tests will depend on what type of arthritis your doctor suspects. They help confirm what type of arthritis your doctor suspects based on your medical history and physical exam and help rule out other diseases that cause similar symptoms.
Recommended Reading: Polyarthritis Causes
Inflammatory Arthritis Vs Osteoarthritis
Arthritis actually describes over 100 different conditions that affect joints and the surrounding tissue. They fall into two main categories: inflammatory arthritis and osteoarthritis .
Inflammatory arthritis is a systemic disease in which the mechanisms that normally protect your body attack your own joints and tissues instead. The most well-known example is rheumatoid arthritis , which tends to be symmetrical, meaning you’ll have problems in the same joints on both sides of your body, like both wrists or both knees.
The second type of arthritis and the most common form is osteoarthritis. A degenerative disorder, it’s caused by trauma or age-related wear and tear on your joints over time. OA is most likely to affect weight-bearing joints such as the knees, hip, lower spine or big toe, but it can also cause pain and stiffness in your thumb or finger joints.
Common Causes Of Stiff Hands
- Post author
Stiff hands can hit you all of a sudden. One minute youre going about your day and the next, youre wiggling your wrists in hopes of bringing life back into your fingers.
Certain serious medical conditions can definitely bring this on, but in other cases, your hands may feel stiff for no apparent reason.
Well, there most likely is a reason why your hands are stiff, and self-care may be your first line of treatment and prevention.
You May Like: Arthritis Skin Rash
Cold Treatment For Joint Pain
Cold therapy reduces blood flow. It does this by narrowing the blood vessels. This is good for a newly swollen joint, such as the kind affected by tendonitis, because it minimizes swelling. You can use almost any cold thing as a cold compressstore-bought cold pack, a bag of frozen veggies, or bagged ice cubes. Just make sure you use a towel between the cold thing and your skin to protect it from freezingburns. Place the cold compress onto the swollen joint for no more than 20 minutes at a time. If your whole body is affected with swollen joints, you can try a chilly ice bath.
Say Hello To Your New Best Friend: The Heated Mattress Pad
A change in the weather, a late night on the town, an unexpected work trip, a call from your mother-in-law once youve been diagnosed with inflammatory arthritis you suddenly become aware of all the strange things that can trigger a flare. But while some arthritis triggers are individual, theres one that seems common to almost everyone living with rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, and other types of inflammatory arthritis: dawn.
Morning stiffness, pain, and immobility are so common that having these symptoms for an hour or more after waking up is part of the diagnostic criteria for rheumatoid arthritis .
Recommended Reading: Muscle Arthritis Treatment
Greater Trochanteric Pain Syndrome
Greater trochanteric pain syndrome, also called trochanteric bursitis or GTPS, is an inflammation of the bursa of the greater trochanter.
Bursae are the small “cushions” between tendons, bones, and muscles. The greater trochanter is the larger of two bony knobs at the top of the thigh bone. Overuse, trauma, or infection can cause inflamed and irritated bursae around the greater trochanter.
Most susceptible are individuals with low back pain, osteoarthritis, and obesity.
Symptoms include chronic, persistent pain on the outside of the hip that radiates down the outside of the leg, sometimes to the knee.
The symptoms are similar to other conditions such as degenerative joint disease, and so a medical provider should be seen for an accurate diagnosis.
Diagnosis is made through physical examination and observation of simple movements.
Treatment largely involves managing the symptoms through weight loss, physical therapy, and over-the-counter nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. In some cases, corticosteroid injections into the hip work well to relieve pain, and surgery can sometimes help.
Spinal Arthritis: What You Need To Know
-
Osteoarthritis is the most common type of arthritis to affect the spine.
-
Arthritis can occur anywhere along the spine, but is more frequent in the lower back and neck.
-
Pain and stiffness are the most common symptoms of spinal arthritis.
-
Causes of spinal arthritis are still largely unknown except for osteoarthritis, which is typically a result of wear and tear.
-
Spinal arthritis treatment may include pain medications, steroid injections, physical therapy and surgery in severe cases.
Recommended Reading: Side Effects Of Arthritis
What Is Rheumatoid Arthritis
If you experience pain, swelling, or stiffness in your hands, arms, feet, or legs for more than six weeks, you may have rheumatoid arthritis . This autoimmune disease causes your immune system to mistakenly attack the lining of the joints, known as the synovium.
RA causes inflammation that can damage joints over time. It can also inflame your blood vessel and lungs. Although less common than osteoarthritis, RA still affects an estimated 1.5 million Americans. It’s more common in women than in men, occurring about three times as often. Typically, for women, this condition begins between ages 30 and 60. For men, the condition typically appears slightly later in life. Although family members with RA raise your risk, most people who have RA do not have a family history of the disorder.
What Is Arthritis Of The Hand
Arthritis is a disease that attacks the tissues of your joints. A joint is where two bones meet. Arthritis can attack the lining of your joint or the cartilage, the smooth covering at the ends of bones. Eventually the cartilage breaks down, the ends of your bones become exposed, rub against each other and wear away. You have many joints in your hand, therefore its a common site for arthritis to happen.
Arthritis of the hand causes pain and swelling, stiffness and deformity. As arthritis progresses, you cant use your hands to manage everyday tasks as you once could.
Also Check: Arthritis Knuckle Pain
Describing Painful Symptoms To Your Doctor
To determine whether your pain is due to osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, or another type of arthritis, your doctor will ask you many questions about your pain, how it affects your life and body, when it occurs, and how bad it gets. Your doctor may ask you to rate your pain on a scale from 1 to 10 .
Before you speak with your doctor, think about the words you want to use to describe your joint pain. Here are some terms that will help your doctor get the full picture. Choose the ones that best describe how your arthritis pain feels:
- Throbbing
RELATED: 10 Hot and Cold Therapy Tips to Tame Joint Pain
What Does Arthritis Pain Feel Like
Are you wondering if the pain and stiffness in your hips, knees, or fingers are caused by arthritis? Here’s how you and your doctor can decide.
Hardly anyone escapes the annoyance of occasional aches and pains, especially as they age. But persistent joint pain and stiffness can be signs of arthritis, which affects more than 54.4 million American adults, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . By 2040, an estimated 78 million American adults are projected to have doctor-diagnosed arthritis.
RELATED:
Don’t Miss: What To Use For Arthritis Pain In Hands
Osteoarthritis Of The Knee
If you have osteoarthritis in your knees, both your knees will usually be affected over time, unless it occurred as the result of an injury or another condition affecting only 1 knee.
Your knees may be most painful when you walk, particularly when walking up or down hills or stairs.
Sometimes, your knees may “give way” beneath you or make it difficult to straighten your legs. You may also hear a soft, grating sound when you move the affected joint.
Rare And Unusual Causes
Certain rare causes of hip joint stiffness may include the following:
- Down syndrome: Tightness and tension in the hips may be compensation for muscle weakness commonly found elsewhere in the body in people with Down syndrome.
- Inflammation from unknown causes: Sudden, severe inflammation of hip joints and muscles can even sometimes spread to the neck and shoulder.
- Tumors: A cancerous growth within any joint can cause swelling and stiffness.
We’ve listed some specific conditions that can cause hip joint stiffness, along with how to identify each of them.
This list does not constitute medical advice and may not accurately represent what you have.
You May Like: Does Arthritis Cause Redness
What Are The Types Of Arthritis
Arthritis most often affects areas in or around joints. Joints are parts of the body where bones meet such as your knee. The ends of the bones are covered by cartilage, a spongy material that acts as a shock absorber to keep bones from rubbing together. The joint is enclosed in a capsule called the synovium. The synovium’s lining releases a slippery fluid that helps the joint move smoothly and easily. Muscles and tendons support the joint and help you move. Different types of arthritis can affect one or more parts of a joint. This often results in a change of shape and alignment in the joints.
Certain types of arthritis can also affect other parts of the body, such as the skin and internal organs. There are more than 100 different types of arthritis. It is important to know which type of arthritis you have so you can treat it properly. If you don’t know which type you have, call your doctor or ask during your next visit. Some common types of arthritis are described below.
What Are Common Arthritis Treatments
There are many things that help reduce pain, relieve stiffness and keep you moving. Your care may involve more than one kind of treatment. Your doctor may recommend medications but there are many things you can do on your own to help manage pain and fatigue and move easier.
Finding the right treatment takes time. It can involve trial and error until you and your healthcare team or therapist find what works best. Be sure to let your doctor know if a treatment is not working. Your treatment may also change as your arthritis changes.
Treatments for arthritis can be divided into several categories: medication, exercise, heat/cold, pacing, joint protection, surgery and self-help skills. You can do things in each of these areas to help yourself feel better and move easier.
Also Check: How To Stop Arthritis In Hands
Make Cooking Breakfast Easier With The Right Tools
There are a number of ergonomic tools that can help with painful morning hands. Look for kitchen tools that decrease joint stress, mounted jar openers instead of trying to twist open jars, knives with saw handles. The more you take advantage of these, the more you can rest your hand and the less pain youll have. A. Lee Osterman, MD, professor of hand and orthopedic surgery and president of the Philadelphia Hand Center
What Makes My Joints Stiff In The Morning
Image: Bigstock
Q. Why are my joints so stiff when I wake up? Is there anything I can do about it?
A. Stiffness in the back, knees, or feet is a common complaint I hear from older individuals. People often say, “I’m just getting old,” but old age alone does not cause morning joint stiffness. It is usually an indication of worn joints, muscle tightness, or inflammation from arthritis.
As your joints get older, the spongy cushion of cartilage begins to dry out and stiffen. The joint lining also produces less synovial fluid, which lubricates the joint. Weak muscles and stiff tendons also tend to tighten during sleep. Osteoarthritis, , and rheumatoid arthritis, , both can trigger morning stiffness.
The average episode lasts only about 10 to 15 minutes. The stiffness goes away as you move and warm up the joints and muscles. However, stiffness from rheumatoid arthritis may last more than an hour.
You cannot reverse the effects of joint aging, and while certain medications can help manage arthritis pain and inflammation, stiffness can still occur. Still, you can reduce the severity and frequency of morning joint stiffness by being more active and engaging in exercise to increase muscle strength and flexibility. Maintaining a healthy weight also can help. Finally, don’t be swayed by joint health supplements, such as glucosamine or chondroitin. These do not appear to help manage symptoms in the long term.
William Kormos, M.D.
You May Like: Rheumatoid Arthritis Upper Back Pain
Damage To The Hip Bursa
The hip joint is formed by the ball at the top of the thigh bone that fits into the socket of the pelvic bone. The outside of the ball has a tendon, the iliotibial band, running down it. There is a bursa, or cushion, under the iliotibial band.
- Injury: The bursa may become injured through direct trauma, leading to a condition called bursitis.
- Tight iliotibial band: The bursa is pressed against the bone, causing inflammation, pain, and difficulty moving. Prolonged sitting and a lack of fitness can leave the band short and tight instead of stretched and flexible. Pain and stiffness may travel to the knee, where the iliotibial band attaches at its other end.
What Outcome Can I Expect If I Have Arthritis In My Hands
There is no cure for arthritis. However, you can usually manage mild to moderate symptoms with a combination of medication and non-medication approaches. Surgery may be an option if other treatments fail or the arthritis in your hands is severe. Your healthcare provider will explain what outcome you can expect for your type and severity of arthritis, your age, other existing medical conditions and other factors.
Don’t Miss: What Does Arthritic Knee Pain Feel Like
What Symptoms Look And Feel Like And What To Do If You Can’t Shake The Ache
by Michelle Crouch, AARP, Updated December 20, 2021
En español |It’s not unusual to experience pain in your joints on occasion, especially if you’re active and participate in high-impact activities such as running. That unwanted ouch can be caused by injured muscles, tendons and ligaments around the joint or by tendonitis, a sprain or a strain.
But if you start experiencing aching, pain and stiffness on a routine basis and particularly if the pain is right at the joint you may be developing arthritis, says rheumatologist Uzma Haque, M.D., codirector of clinical operations at the Johns Hopkins Arthritis Center in Baltimore.
Your risk of arthritis increases as you age, and its a leading cause of disability in the U.S., affecting around 58.5 million people, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention .
Ra Symptoms Often Include More Than Joint Pain
Since rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic inflammatory disease, it will progress aggressively if not treated early on. According to a study published in a 2018 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, Early diagnosis and treatment of RA can avert or substantially slow progression of joint damage in up to 90 percent of patients, thereby preventing irreversible disability. All the more reason to recognize RAs pain symptoms many of which you might not associate with arthritis pain. These can include:
- Joint pain that occurs on both sides of the body, such as both feet, ankles, wrists, or fingers
RELATED: What Are Rheumatic Diseases? Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis, Treatment, and Prevention
Recommended Reading: Can You Stop Arthritis In Fingers