The onset of osteoarthritis symptoms is typically described as being gradual. The typical osteoarthritis patient is middle-age and has symptoms that develop over time. Hips and knees are commonly involved. Symptoms can include:
- Joint pain
- Joint stiffness
- Joint tenderness
- Limited range-of-motion
- Crepitus (crackling, grinding noise with movement)
- Joint effusion (swelling)
- Local inflammation
- Bony enlargements and osteophyte (bone spur) formation
But osteoarthritis onset is not always gradual. Sometimes osteoarthritis symptoms appear suddenly. When is it the case that acute symptoms appear? Learn more about osteoarthritis symptoms and how they can develop in Osteoarthritis Onset - Do Symptoms Always Develop Gradually?
Related Resources:
- Osteoarthritis Signs and Symptoms
- Osteoarthritis Explained With Pictures
- What Is Erosive Osteoarthritis?
- Joint Pain: Primary Symptom of Osteoarthritis
- Understanding Osteoarthritis Symptoms and Diagnosis
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Photo by Joan Kimball (iStockphoto)
Miss Carol,
I was diagnosed with osteoarthritis at age 19 as a result of injuries to my left leg and knee (this one especially).
Even though I have had some of the symptoms listed over the years it was a more unusual symptom that got my primary care doctor’s attention and also the rheumatologist when they were trying to figure out what was wrong with me.
Not only did my knees (especially the left) go off their track but I started having some symptoms in my thigh muscle. The symptoms that I had were not only pain of the actual muscle, but also burning so bad that I would itch and want to scratch.
Now as I have continued to deal with the osteoarthritis I do feel issues in my knees and still have them go off their tracks at times. But to this day whenever I do have a flare of my arthritis I always tend to feel it in my thigh first.