How to spot the early signs of arthritis

Arthritis impacts around 3.7 million Australians.¹ While there is no surefire way to prevent arthritis, early detection of the disease can help to manage symptoms and even slow its progress.

Learn more here about how to spot the early signs of arthritis and what to do next.

Arthritis is a broad term for a range of conditions that cause inflammation in the joints.1 Pain, stiffness, swelling and redness in the joints are common symptoms of arthritis. There are several different types of arthritis, with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis being the most common.

• Osteoarthritis, the most common type, is sometimes called a ‘wear and tear’ condition. It generally affects people over the age of 50 and can affect any joint. Osteoarthritis typically develops slowly, but can progress more rapidly as the result of an injury.
• Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic, autoimmune condition that causes pain, swelling and inflammation in the joints. It can also affect other parts of the body, including the skin, eyes, lungs, heart and blood vessels.
• Gout is a specific form of inflammatory arthritis. Small crystals form in and around the joint, causing inflammation, pain and swelling. An attack of gout usually comes on quite suddenly, even overnight.
• Psoriatic arthritis causes inflammation of the joints and is generally suffered by those who already have the skin disease psoriasis.

There are several recognised risk factors for arthritis³, and anyone can get it.

Osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis are more prevalent in women, while gout is more of a male disease. The reasons for this are not well understood. Other risk factors include:

• age
• family history
• being overweight or obese
• smoking
• injury
• repetitive movements over time

While your risk of getting arthritis increases as you get older, anyone can be affected. Juvenile arthritis affects people under the age of 16 and can seriously impact growth and development.²

Arthritis can start gradually, meaning we can miss signs and symptoms and put aches and pains down to other causes. Knowing the early signs can help us spot arthritis and seek treatment quickly, which might help slow the progress of the disease and help reduce the severity of symptoms.

“For something like rheumatoid or an autoimmune arthritis, there are medications that can slow down the progress, if not stop it completely,” says Bupa GP, Janice Tan.

“The saddest thing as a GP is when someone comes in after years of knee, finger pain or wrist pain, and they thought it was osteoarthritis and managed it on their own, when it was actually rheumatoid and the opportunity was missed to slow it down.”

“Pain and swelling in the joints are never good,” says Tan. “Unless there’s a clear reason, such as an injury, if you’re getting pain and swelling you need to see a doctor. If it’s not arthritis it could be overuse or something else, so it needs addressing.”

While it might be normal to feel a bit creaky first thing in the morning, especially after a game of basketball or a day spent gardening, not being able to move and extend your joints could be a warning sign, says Tan.

“If you find morning stiffness of the joints worsening over time with no clear reason, and it’s becoming a trend, that’s a clear indicator that you need to see a doctor.”

You can’t cause arthritis by clicking your joints says Tan, but if you’re noticing the clicking increasing, it could be an early sign.

“If you find your joints are clicking a bit more often, that's a sign that there's probably excess fluid and potentially excess inflammation there. If you see a doctor before it gets worse there’s an opportunity to see a physio and get some preventative treatment.”

Feeling tired all the time could be a symptom of many different conditions, including an autoimmune arthritis like rheumatoid arthritis, says Tan. “Autoimmune conditions such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis often do cause unusual fatigue because of the body attacking its own cells.”

Arthritis Australia provides information resources to help people live well with arthritis.

The Arthritis Movement has information and advice for arthritis sufferers, including children, teens and young adults.