Signs and Symptoms
Symptoms of osteoarthritis include the following:
- Deep, achy joint pain exacerbated by extensive use - The disease’s primary symptom.
- Reduced range of motion and crepitus - Frequently present.
- Stiffness during rest (gelling) - May develop, with morning joint stiffness usually lasting for less than 30 minutes.
- Swelling.
Osteoarthritis of the HandZ
- Distal interphalangeal (DIP) joints are most often affected.
- Proximal interphalangeal (PIP) joints and the carpometacarpal (CMC) joints at the base of the thumb are also typically involved.
- Heberden nodes, which represent palpable osteophytes in the DIP joints, are more characteristic in women than in men.
- Inflammatory changes are typically absent, less pronounced, or go unnoticed.
Pain Mechanisms in OsteoarthritisZ
Pain, the main presenting symptom of osteoarthritis, is presumed to arise from a combination of mechanisms, including:
- Osteophytic periosteal elevation
- Vascular congestion of subchondral bone, leading to increased intraosseous pressure
- Synovitis with activation of synovial membrane nociceptors
- Fatigue in muscles that cross the joint
- Overall joint contracture
- Joint effusion and stretching of the joint capsule
- Torn menisci
- Inflammation of periarticular bursae
- Periarticular muscle spasm
- Psychological factors
- Crepitus (a rough or crunchy sensation)
- Central pain sensitization
