How do symptoms manifest themselves in the respective forms of osteoarthritis – and in general?
Some symptoms of the different types of osteoarthritis are specific to the particular joint affected (see below. However, many signs are found in each form of osteoarthritis. Usually, these osteoarthritis symptoms are limited to one or a few joints. They often occur in episodes.
Many sufferers have no symptoms at all for years, even though clear signs of the disease are already visible in the X-ray image. However, if osteoarthritis develops as a result of an injury (trauma), patients may develop severe symptoms very quickly.
Classically, arthrosis patients suffer from joint pain. Initially, the joint only hurts when they put weight on it. Over time, it also stings when they move it, and eventually even at rest.
Stress pain & Co.
Pain on exertion is often the first symptom of joint wear. They usually occur initially after unaccustomed activities. For example, when an untrained person walks a short distance. Lugging boxes when moving house or hiking up a mountain are also not everyday activities and put more strain on the joints than normal.
If the disease progresses further, even heavier everyday stresses cause symptoms. For many osteoarthritis patients, the pain in this phase of the disease often cannot be precisely localized or characterized. They usually find it annoying, but it hardly restricts everyday activities.
These symptoms often occur in phases. They usually come on during certain stresses and then disappear again spontaneously. In some patients, osteoarthritis symptoms worsen due to weather conditions, especially cold or wet weather.
Movement pain
As the disease progresses, pain becomes more severe and frequent. Patients usually already know which activities they prefer to avoid. In addition, exertion pain becomes movement pain. Typically, the pain occurs when sufferers stand up again after sitting or lying down for a long time (start-up pain). After a few steps, this pain usually disappears again.
Pain at rest
Only in late stages of the disease does the joint hurt even at rest. Some patients feel the pain permanently. If the pain persists at night, the affected person usually has trouble sleeping.
The cause of this pain at rest is often a joint effusion. This causes increased fluid accumulation in the joint. The joint skin is irritated and in some cases becomes inflamed. The inflammation often occurs in episodes. The joint then swells, is reddened and feels very warm. The pain usually increases.
The position of the joint often changes during this phase of the disease. Existing deformities such as bow legs or knock-knees may become more pronounced and the symptoms of osteoarthritis worsen. An increasingly stiff spine also often severely restricts the quality of life.
Arthrosis symptoms in the late stage
When detached cartilage fragments enter the joint space, they often block normal movement. The joint becomes unstable and in some cases suddenly buckles (giving-way phenomenon), with severe pain shooting into the joint.
Sometimes patients with advanced osteoarthritis hear or feel a grinding in joint. This is what medical professionals call crepitation. It occurs when the joint surface is so worn that cartilage remnants or bone rub against each other. At first, patients only feel this grinding. Later, they hear fine-grained and coarse-grained rubbing or cracking noises. Crepitations often occur even when the patient has no pain or other symptoms. They do not necessarily need to be treated.
Gonarthrosis symptoms
If the gonarthrosis symptoms last longer, the thigh muscles degenerate. Especially the leg extensor at the front thigh loses its muscle tissue and becomes thinner (tissue atrophy).
Due to the lack of movement, the knee joint cartilage is also less well supplied with nutrients. This further promotes osteoarthritis. The symptoms of gonarthrosis therefore worsen very quickly in many cases.
Read more about gonathrosis, its treatment, diagnosis and more in the article Gonathrosis.
Coxarthrosis symptoms
Osteoarthritis in the hip joint is what doctors call coxarthrosis. Affected people often have pain in the hip and are more immobile. They often notice this when they tie their shoes or put on stockings.
Read more about coxarthrosis, its treatment, diagnosis and more in the article Coxarthrosis.
Spondyloarthritis symptoms
By spondyloarthritis, physicians understand a joint wear of the small vertebral joints in the spine. Almost all people of advanced age are affected by it. Overweight or a herniated intervertebral disc promote this wear of the vertebral joints, as do certain sports and professions.
In the vicinity of the vertebral joints lie the nerves that run in the spinal canal. When this canal is narrowed by spondyloarthrosis, symptoms often occur.
Often they manifest themselves in the form of back pain, which occurs in individual places on the back (localized) or radiates to the buttocks and legs. The pain usually increases when sufferers bend backward.
Many sufferers also describe an uncomfortable tingling sensation. In extreme cases, spondyloarthritis even leads to paralysis due to nerve damage.
Osteoarthritis of the cervical spine then often leads to neck pain that occasionally radiates into the arms.
Read more about spondyloarthritis, its treatment, diagnosis and more in the article Spondyloarthritis.
Omarthrosis symptoms
In the case of joint wear in the shoulder joint, doctors speak of omarthrosis. The cause is usually old injuries or diseases such as rheumatism.
Patients with omarthrosis often complain of pain when lifting the arm and/or turning it outward. After heavy exertion or in advanced stages, the shoulder also hurts at rest. Many patients have trouble sleeping on the affected shoulder.
In many cases, the shoulder joint is so immobile that, for example, the arm can no longer be lifted in phases. However, the mobility restrictions of osteoarthritis are not as extensive as those of hip or knee osteoarthritis.
Rhizarthrosis and Finger Osteoarthritis Symptoms
Osteoarthritis of the hand affects various joints, including the finger joints. Common forms of finger osteoarthritis have their own names: The most common form of osteoarthritis in the thumb saddle joint, which is located at the base of the thumb, is rhizarthrosis.
It causes pain primarily during grasping and twisting movements, such as turning a key in a lock. Often the pain is so severe that these movements are no longer possible at all. The thumb can often only be moved to a limited extent.
Many patients also experience pain when they press on the area between the thumb and wrist. The thumb saddle joint feels powerless and unstable to sufferers. Some also feel a rubbing or grinding sensation when rotating the thumb.
Read more about rhizarthrosis, its treatment, diagnosis and more in the article Rhizarthrosis.
You can read more about osteoarthritis in general, its treatment, diagnosis and more, as well as about other forms of osteoarthritis in the article Osteoarthritis.
