Is joint pain different in rheumatoid arthritis than osteoarthritis?
The joint pain symptoms in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and osteoarthritis differ in that RA creates more inflammation/swelling, and morning stiffness lasts longer. Watch rheumatologist Natalie Azar, MD, discuss how RA symptoms tend to be more severe.
Transcript
The timeline that we usually use when we're evaluating patients with arthritis is how long their morning stiffness lasts.
It is typical for osteoarthritis stiffness to last no more than one hour in the morning.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
The joint pain symptoms in rheumatoid and osteoarthritis can be similar in certain ways, but also
have some striking differences. Their similarities are by virtue of the fact that they're both inflammatory conditions of the joint.
In osteoarthritis, however, the inflammation is much, much less than in rheumatoid arthritis. So typically, patients will experience pain in their joints
but may not have quite as much swelling or stiffness as in a rheumatoid arthritis patient. The timeline that we usually use when we're evaluating patients
with arthritis is how long their morning stiffness lasts. It is typical for osteoarthritis stiffness
to last no more than one hour in the morning, whereas in rheumatoid arthritis, stiffness can last up to two to three hours.
And in certain patients, it can last all day. In rheumatoid arthritis, again, the pain is usually slightly more and there
are more signs of inflammation, such as swelling and redness. [AUDIO LOGO]
rheumatoid arthritis
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